ISBN 978-3-8439-2715-4

978-3-8439-2715-4, Reihe Kommunikationstechnik

Rani Almaharmah
Multi-Aware Cluster Head Maintenance for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks with Wireless Power Transfer Capabilities

209 Seiten, Dissertation Universität Duisburg-Essen (2016), Hardcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are peer-to-peer, multi-hop connected networks [Mis09], which are useful in areas where the fixed solutions seem inflexible or costly [Lat05]. Energy conservation is a critical issue in MANETs, as the nodes are powered by batteries with limited energy reservoir [San13]. Managing this limited battery power resource with the current battery manufacturing techniques is a key challenge in MANETs, especially, in large networks.

Different solutions have been proposed for scaling down the large size of networks, one of the most intrinsic approaches is clustering techniques [Sah12]. Clustering is a process that divides the network into interconnected substructures, called clusters [Mon11]. In clustering, a great deal of work is done to elect the optimal cluster heads because of their important role. Cluster heads manage the cluster and coordinate with other clusters through inter or intra cluster communications.

The objective of this work is to propose a joint system that reduces the energy consumption and extends the operating lifetime of MANETs, especially, the cluster heads. The dissertation proposes an on-demand distributed multi-aware approach, namely Multi-Aware Cluster Head Maintenance (MACHM) to elect the cluster heads based on a weighted formula. The weighted formula takes advantage of several concepts simultaneously, which includes load balancing, geographical positioning, nodes mobility, and energy considerations.

A novel mechanism to monitor and maintain the elected cluster heads based on their energy levels has been proposed. The proposed maintenance procedure uses a resonant inductive coupling Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) when possible before re-electing the cluster heads under maintenance. The possibility of using this technology is controlled by a given charging feasibility definition.

MACHM is implemented using a proposed practical methodology to implement new MANET routing protocols in Riverbed® Modeler simulation tool. The proposed MACHM is tested against the Weighted Clustering Algorithm (WCA) and Virtual Links Weight-Based Clustering (VLWBC) regarding different performance metrics. The tested indicators measure the performance of the data routing, cluster heads election, clusters formation and maintenance, and WPT efficiency.