Simulating a Proposed P-Median Clustering Approach for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks are useful in various civil and military applications. Wireless sensor networks consist of independent sensor nodes that can be utilized in embedded and long-range monitoring applications. This paper describes a proposed P-median clustering approach based on Mathematical and simulation models for wireless sensor networks. The developed optimization model aims to minimize the power consumption. The model constraints are based on minimizing the distances between the sensor nodes and their cluster heads. It was known that power consumption is directly proportional to the distance between the transmitter and receiver. Minimizing these distances will reduce the network power consumption. The proposed process is to determine the optimal number of formed clusters (P) and assign each sensor node to its suitable cluster. Different cluster numbers are proposed in different simulation scenarios. For each value of P, simulation experiments are performed to test the distribution of sensor nodes in each cluster to ensure the constraints validation. The simulation results show that most deployed sensors are composed in clusters, 99% are collected in clusters, and only 1% have been outside the clustering process, representing an error rate.