Double Cluster-Heads Clustering Algorithm for Wireless

Sensor Networks Using PSO

Zhang RuihuaˈJia Zhiping, Li Xin, Han Dongxue
School of Computer Science and Technology
Shandong University
Jinan 250101, China
Ruihua_zhang@sdu.edu.cn

Abstract- One of the most important design criteria for wireless
sensor networks (WSNs) is energy efficiency. Clustering provides
an effective way for extending the lifetime of the network. In this
paper, we propose a double cluster-heads clustering algorithm
using particle swarm optimization (PSO-DH). The algorithm
generates two cluster heads. The election of the master
cluster-head and the vice cluster-head needs consider the state
information, including location and energy reserved about nodes
and their neighbors. The Master Cluster Head (MCH) receives
and aggregates the data from its member nodes. The aggregation
data are sent to the vice one. The Vice Cluster Head (VCH)
transmits aggregation data to the sink directly. This algorithm
can balance the energy consumption, so it can extend the network
lifetime effectively. Simulation results show the lifetime of the
algorithm is extended for 50% contrast with LEACH.
Key words- particle swarm optimization; wireless
network;clustering; double cluster-heads
ȱ. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, WSNs are applied in many applications.
Sensor nodes are usually distributed in locations for real-time
monitor. So energy constraint is the vital problem of the
WSNs. Clustering is one of the energy-efficient techniques for
extending the lifetime of a sensor network. It is often coupled
with data aggregation to extend the network lifetime [1]. Some
clustering algorithms have been proposed for sensor networks.
One of the well known clustering protocols called LEACH has
been introduced in [2]. LEACH is a cluster-based protocol that
includes distributed cluster formation in which the nodes elect
themselves as cluster heads with some probability. The
algorithm is run periodically and the probability of becoming a
cluster head for each period is chosen to ensure that every node
become a cluster head at least once within 1/P rounds, where P
is the predetermined percentage of cluster heads. LEACH
organizes its operation into rounds, where each round consists
of a setup phase where clusters are formed and a steady state
phase that consists of the data communication process. LEACH
provides significant energy savings and prolonged network
lifetime over conventional multi-hop routing schemes. In
HEED [3], the initial probability for each sensor to become a
cluster head is dependent on its residual energy. Later, sensors
that are not covered by any cluster heads double their
probability of becoming a cluster head. This procedure iterates
until all sensors are covered by at least one head. In the final
stage, sensors join cluster heads that have the lowest cost
within their range.
The particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a simple,
effective, and computationally efficient optimization algorithm.
It has been applied to address WSN issues such as optimal
deployment, node localization, clustering, and data
aggregation. The application of PSO algorithm to solve the
problem of sensor network clustering has been proposed before
in [4]. The authors attempted to equalize the number of nodes
and candidate cluster heads in each cluster in order to minimize
the energy expended by the nodes. However, no comparison
with other clustering protocols in terms of energy efficiency
has been addressed in [4]. In [5], a protocol using PSO has
been proposed. It has the objective of minimizing the
sensor intra-cluster distance and optimizing the energy consumption
of the network. In [6], a new cluster-based algorithm using
PSO is proposed. The election of cluster-heads needs to
consider the information of location and energy reserved about
candidates and their neighbors.
Based on this observation, this paper proposes a double
cluster-heads clustering algorithm using the particle swarm
optimization (PSO-DH). In the basis of LEACH, the algorithm
generates two cluster heads using PSO. It not only considers
the cluster-head Optimized selection, but also considers node'
energy equilibrium. The intra-cluster data transmissions begin
after clusters have been formed. The Master Cluster Head
(MCH) receives and aggregates the data from its cluster
members. The aggregation data are sent to the vice one. The
Vice Cluster Head (VCH) transmits aggregation data to the
sink directly. MCH is not direct communication with the sink,
which can save energy. The mechanism better balances the
network workloads, and clearly prolongs the lifetime of a
sensor network.
II. SYSTEM MODEL
A. Network Model
We consider a square sensing field, and a total of N sensor
nodes is uniformly distributed within the field. Sensed data is
collected in a periodic manner, and each such period is defined
as a round. This period that we have named round consists of
the cluster setup phase using PSO algorithm and a steady state
phase. Each round begins with a setup phase at which clusters

This research is sponsored by the Natural Science Foundation

of China (NSFC) under grant no. 60903031 and 61070022.

978-1-4244-8756-1/11/$26.00 2011
c IEEE 763
are formed. Clustering generates a master cluster-head and a
vice cluster-head. This is followed by a steady state phase in
which the data sensed are transmitted to the sink. The master
cluster-head is used for the date collecting and date
aggregation. The aggregation dates are sent to the vice one.
The Vice Cluster Head (VCH) transmits aggregation data to
the sink directly.
We make some assumptions about the sensor nodes and the
underlying network model:
1) There is a sink located in the square sensing field.
Sensors and the sink are all stationary after deployment. This is
a typical property for sensor network application.
2) All nodes are homogeneous and have the same
capabilities. Each node is assigned a unique identifier (ID).
3) Nodes can use power control to vary the amount of
transmission power, which depends on the distance to the
receiver.
4) Each node knows its own location through location
techniques such as RSSI localization based on core [7].
B. Energy consumption model
Our energy model for the sensors is based on the first order
radio model as used in [5]. In this model, the transmitter
dissipates energy to run the radio electronics and the power
amplifier, and the receiver dissipates energy to run the radio
electronics. The radios can perform power control and hence
use the minimum energy required to reach the intended
recipients. We adopt a typical energy consumption model
whose specific details can be found in [5]. The energy spent for
transmission of an l-bit packet over distance d is:
­°l ⋅ E + l ⋅ ε d 2 , if d < d
elec FS
ETX (l , d ) = ®
4
⋅
°̄ elec
l E + l ⋅ εTR d , if d ≥ d0
WhereˈEelec is the energy dissipated per bit to run the
transmitter or the receiver circuit, İFS and İTR depends on the
transmitter amplifier model we use, and d0 is the threshold
transmission distance. In addition, to receive this message, the
radio expends energy:
E RX (l ) = l ⋅ Eelec
The data aggregation model used in our simulations
assumes that the overall information collected by a cluster of n
nodes, where each node collects k bits of data, can be
compressed to k bits regardless of the number of nodes in that
cluster. In our simulations, the energy cost for data aggregation
is set as EDA.
III. PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION
The PSO algorithm is an evolutionary computing technique
based on the principle such as bird flocking. This method was
first proposed by Kennedy and Eberhart [8]. In PSO a set of
potential solutions are called particles that are initialized
randomly. Each particle will have a fitness value, which will be
evaluated by the fitness function to be optimized in each
generation. Each particle knows its best position Pid and the
764 2011 6th IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications
global best position Pgd so far among the entire group of
particles. The particle will have velocities, which direct the
flying of the particle. In each generation, the velocity and the
position of the particle will be updated. The velocity and the
position update equations are given below as (3) and (4)
respectively.
Vid (t + 1) = WVid (t ) + c1α ( Pid − X id (t )) + c2 β ( Pgd − X id (t ))
(3)
X id (t + 1) = X id (t ) + Vid (t + 1) (4)
Where, V is the particle velocity, X is the particle position,
t is time. c1 and c2 are learning factors, Į and ȕ is random
numbers between 0 and 1, Pid is the particle’s best position, Pgd
is the global best position and W is the inertia weight.
IV. PSO-DH ALGORITHM
Detailed descriptions of the PSO-DH are in the following
three subsections: the fitness function of PSO, the selection
MCH and VCH and PSO-DH algorithm steps.
A. The fitness function of PSO
A major issue on using PSO algorithm is the determination
of fitness function. Fitness function is closely related with the
characteristics of problem domain, and it directly determines
the performance of the optimal solution of the algorithm. Based
on [5], we definite the fitness function, and analyze the
clustering of WSN. First, fitness function definition should
consider the node residual energy, because cluster heads
consume more energy than the member nodes. Second, the
average distance between cluster heads and member nodes are
considered due to cluster head responsible for collecting data
from member nodes.
0 (1)
Based on the above two points, we definite the fitness
functions f (i ) for node i :
f (i ) = ε × f1 (i ) + (1 − ε ) f 2 (i ) (5)
m
f1 (i) = E (i) / ¦ E (k ) (6)
k =1, k ≠ i
(2) m
f 2 (i ) = (m − 1) / ¦ d (i, k ) (7)
k =1, k ≠ i
Function f1(i) is the ratio of node i’s energy to the total
energy of cluster, m is the number of nodes within the cluster,
E(k) is the energy of node k. Function f2(i) is the countdown of
total Euclidean distance of cluster nodes to node i, d(i,k) is the
distance between node k and node i. İ is a user defined constant
used to weigh the contribution of each of the sub-objectives.
The fitness function defined above has the objective of
simultaneously minimizing the intra-cluster distance between
nodes and their cluster head i, as quantified by f2(i); and also of
optimizing the energy efficiency of the network as quantified
by f1(i). According to the fitness function defined above,
choose the node with the maximum value of f(i) as cluster
head, and it is the optimum.
B.The selection MCH and VCH V. SIMULATION RESULTS

In PSO iterative process, select the optimal solution as
MCH, and the suboptimal solution as VCH. When iterations of
PSO ended, the global best is the optimal solution, and the
global best of the previous iterations is the suboptimal solution.
According to the fitness function, The VCH also has more
energy, and the nearest distance with the MCH. So we simply
choose the suboptimal solution as the VCH. The simulation
results show that such choice can achieve good performance.
C. PSO-DH Algorithm Steps
PSO-DH algorithm is similar to LEACH. Its execution is
periodic. This algorithm first is initial clustering using LEACH
algorithm. Each cluster optimally chooses the MCH and VCH
using PSO. The intra-cluster data transmissions begin after
clusters have been formed. Each MCH receives and aggregates
the data from its cluster members. Many clustering have
proposed the use of coordinated TDMA scheduling in the
MAC layer. The aggregation dates are sent to the VCH. The
VCH transmits aggregation data to the sink directly. Process of
the specific steps is as follows:
(1) We first are initial clustering Using LEACH algorithms.
All member nodes send information about its current energy
and locations to its cluster head in each cluster. This cluster
head is the initial cluster head.
(2) Based on this information, the initial cluster head runs
this algorithm to select the master cluster head and vice cluster
head using PSO. This step is the core, and the basic steps are as
follows:
1) Initialize particle swarm. Randomly initialize position
and velocity of each particle.
2) Calculate the fitness of each particle using formula (5) to
(7).
3) Find the personal and global best for each particle. The
personal best is the current position of the particle, and the
global best is the position of the particle that has the maximum
fitness.
4) Update the each particle’s position and velocity using
formula (3) and (4). Map the new updated position with the
closest coordinate.
5) Repeat steps 2) to 4) until the maximum number of
iterations is reached. Select the global best as MCH, and the
global best of the previous iterations as VCH. The initial
cluster head transmits the information that contains the MCH
and VCH ID to all nodes in the cluster.
(3) The MCH sets up a TDMA schedule for its members to
avoid collisions among data messages, allowing the radio
devices of each member to be turned off at all times, except
during their transmission time. Once the cluster head finishes
receiving data from its entire members at the end of each
frame, the cluster head performs data aggregation and sends the
aggregated data to the VCH. The VCH sends the aggregated
data to the sink.
In this section, we evaluate the performance of the PSO-DH
mechanism via simulations. Simulation experiments are carried
out in the network simulator OMNET++ (Simulation
Environment, http://www.omnetpp.org). We ran the
simulations for 200 nodes in a 200 m × 200 m network area with
equal initial energy. The performance of our algorithm was
compared with the clustering protocols for WSNs, LEACH [2]
and PSO-LEACH [6]. Simulation compares their lifetime and
residual energy respectively. Network lifetime is the rounds
until 20% nodes die. The simulation parameters are given in
Table 1, in which the parameters of the radio model are the
same as those in [5].
TABLE 1 SIMULATION PARAMETERS
Parameter Value
Network coverage (0,0)~(200ˈ200)m2
Sink location ˄100ˈ150˅m
Transmitter circuitry, Eelec 50nȳ/bit
İTR 0.0013pȳ/bit/m4
ǼFS 10 pȳ/bit/m2
aggregation energy per bit, EDA 5nJ/bit
path lossˈĮ 2
Initial energy 0.5J
Data packet size 4000 bit
Control packet size 100 bit
N 200
c1 and c2 2
W 0.9
İ 0.6
Fig. 1 illustrates the system lifetime, defined by the number
of nodes alive. Clearly, our proposed algorithm can prolong the
network lifetime significantly compared to LEACH and
PSO-LEACH. This is because our algorithm produces the
better network partitioning with minimum intra-cluster distance
and also cluster head that are optimally distributed across the
network. Thus, the energy consumed by all nodes for
communication can be reduced since the distances between
member nodes to their cluster head are shorter. On the
contrary, in LEACH some nodes have to bridge long distances
in order to reach a cluster head due to poor network clustering.
As a result, some nodes dissipate a large amount of energy
while transmitting their data to a faraway cluster head. In the
PSO-LEACH cluster head excessive more workloads, so it
consumes more energy. As we can be seen from the Fig.1, the
lifetime of PSO-LEACH extends 15% to one of LEACH, and
the lifetime of PSO-DH extends nearly 50% to one of
PSO-LEACH. So the proposed algorithm can effectively
balance energy consumption in the cluster.

2011 6th IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications 765


Fig.1 Number of nodes alive over time
Fig.2 The Residual Energy (J)
Fig. 2 illustrates the system residual energies. We can see
from the Fig.2, although the PSO_LEACH algorithm can
prolong the lifetime, but its total energy consumption is same
with LEACH. It is because the collection of the position and
energy information for choosing the optimum cluster head
would bring additional energy consumption. Our proposed
algorithm can reduce the overall energy consumption, because
766 2011 6th IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications
it adopts the communication mode of the dual cluster head, and
this mode can balance the network workload.
VI. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
In this paper, we have presented a double cluster-heads
clustering algorithm using the particle swarm optimization
(PSO) algorithm. We have defined a new fitness function that
takes into account the minimum distance between the member
node and its cluster head, and the residual energy of nodes in
the cluster-head selection algorithm. For balancing the network
workload, we adopt the dual cluster head strategy. Results from
the simulations indicate that the proposed algorithm gives a
higher network lifetime compared to LEACH and
PSO-LEACH. Our future work includes the implementation of
the multi-hop routing among the VCHs, and the effect of
parameters in this algorithm.
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