Integrated topology control and routing in wireless sensor networks for prolonged network lifetime

This study considers an integrated topology control and routing problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which are employed to gather data via use of sensors with limited energy resources. We employ a hierarchical topology and routing structure with multiple sinks and devise a topology control scheme via usable energy fraction at the sensors. We develop and examine three different mathematical models whose solutions prescribe clusterhead and sink locations and data routing from sensors to sinks in a period of a deployment cycle. We develop a heuristic solution algorithm which provides very small optimality gaps for the models. The approach utilizes two types of solution representations, a combination of multiple neighborhoods, and objective value-based cut inequalities for improving the evaluation of candidate solutions. We present extensive numerical test results and analysis of the models and the solution approach. We determine that our proposed model, which minimizes average energy usage and the range of remaining energy distribution at the sensors, captures important characteristics of topology control and routing integration in WSN design and exhibits significantly better performance than our benchmark models and a well-known protocol HEED in extending network lifetime.