Uncovering the impact of minimum-energy routing on lifetime of wireless sensor networks

It is well-known that in wireless sensor networks using minimum-energy paths to transfer data from sensor nodes to base station is not an energy-balancing option and not the optimal solution if lifetime, defined as the duration till the first node in the network exhausts all its energy, is of concern. However, the net effect of minimum-energy routing on network lifetime has not been studied in detail before. In this study, we present comparative analysis using both simulations and linear programming models to investigate this issue with respect to various system parameters such as energy model, network area and number of nodes. Our results show that network lifetime achieved with minimum-energy routing could be as low as 19.3% of the maximum achievable lifetime depending on the values of other system parameters.