Spectral partitioning and fuzzy C-means based clustering algorithm for wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), sensor nodes are usually powered by battery and thus have very limited energy. Saving energy is an important goal in designing a WSN. It is known that clustering is an effective method to prolong network lifetime. However, how to cluster sensor nodes cooperatively and achieve an optimal number of clusters in a WSN still remains an open issue. In this paper, we first propose an analytical model to determine the optimal number of clusters in a wireless sensor network. We then propose a centralized cluster algorithm based on the spectral partitioning method. The advantage of the method is that the partitioned subgraphs have an approximately equal number of vertices while minimizing the number of edges between the two subgraphs. Then, we present a distributed clustering algorithm based on fuzzy C-means method and the selection strategy of cooperative nodes and cluster heads based on fuzzy logic. Finally, simulation results show that the proposed algorithms outperform the hybrid energy-efficient distributed clustering algorithm in terms of energy cost and network lifetime.