An Improved Multi-hop LEACH Protocol Based on Chaotic Genetic Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Clustering in LEACH and its successors has been proved to be effective for not only improving energy efficiency but also extending network lifetime of wireless sensor networks. However, minimization of network energy consumption is still the most important topic in the research of hierarchical protocols based on LEACH. In this paper, an improved multi-hop LEACH protocol based on chaotic genetic algorithm (ICGA-LEACH) is proposed to obtain the optimal solution for energy efficiency and load balance at the same time. In ICGA-LEACH, cluster heads (CHs) are selected by a modified probability equation similar to LEACH, and then chaotic genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal routing paths and cluster members for the CHs according to a new constructed fitness function. Additionally, an adaptive round time is presented to further reduce energy consumption and prolong network lifetime. Simulation results in Matlab indicate that ICGA-LEACH is significantly superior to the existing relevant counterparts.