Cluster-Based Routing Protocols with Adaptive Transmission Range Adjustment in UWSNs

Nowadays, limited battery lifespan in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) is one of the key concerns for reliable data delivery. Traditional transmission approaches increase the transmission overhead, i.e., packet collision and congestion, which affects the reliable data delivery. Additionally, replacement of the sensors battery in the harsh aquatic environment is a challenging task. To save the network from sudden failure and to prolong the lifespan of the network, efficient routing protocols are needed to control the excessive energy dissipation. Therefore, this paper proposes two cluster-based routing protocols. The proposed protocols adaptively adjust their transmission range to keep maximum neighbors in their transmission range. This transmission range adjustment helps the routing protocols to retain their transmission process continuous by removing void holes from the network. Clusters formation in both proposed protocols makes the data transmission successful, which enhances the Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR). A comparative analysis is also performed with two state-of-the-art protocols named: Weighting Depth Forwarding Area Division, Depth Based Routing (WDFADDBR) and Cluster-Based WDFAD-DB (CB-WDFAD-DBR). Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed protocols in terms of PDR, Energy Consumption (EC) and End to End (E2E) delay.