Prolonging smart grid network lifetime through optimising number of sensor nodes and packet length
Mohamed Elwekeil, Mohamed S. Abdalzaher, Karim G. Seddik · IET Communications · 2019
In the era of internet‐of‐things (IoT), many applications utilise wireless sensor networks (WSNs)including smart grids (SGs). Designing WSNs to fulfill the SGs requirementsimposes some challenges such as limited power and signal propagationimpairments, especially, in harsh environments. Consequently, saving powerconsumption in WSNs‐based SGs is among the most significant challenges. Thetotal power required at a certain sensor depends on two main parameters: thepacket length and inter‐node distance. This paper investigates the optimalpacket length and inter‐node distance to be utilised in a SG over six differentenvironments aiming at maximising the network lifetime. The investigation isbased on a link‐layer model using Tmote Sky nodes taking into consideration thesix environments impact. A mixed‐integer programming (MIP) model is utilised todetermine the best packet length and number of nodes for maximising the networklifetime. This model analyses the performance of maximum SG network lifetimeover those environments and addresses the inter‐node distance effect on thenetwork lifetime maximisation. Simulation results show that decreasing thenumber of nodes covering a certain area is preferable to prolonging the networklifetime. Furthermore, for the considered models, the longer the packet lengthis, the longer the network lifetime will be.