Improved Relay Node Placement Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks Application in Wind Farm

An emergent application of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology is in the area of Wind Farm Monitoring (WFM), in which relays are used to connect sensors. Key problems to solve in WFM include how to balance loads across relay nodes and how to place relay nodes for redundancy and fault-tolerance. Each wind turbine has a potentially large number of data points needing to be monitored and collected, as farms continue to increase in scale; distances between turbines can reach several hundred meters. Optimal placement of relays in a large farm requires an efficient algorithmic solution. A relay node placement algorithm is proposed in this paper to approximate the optimal position for relays connecting each turbine. However, constraints are then required to prevent relay nodes being overloaded in 3-dimensions. The algorithm is extended to 3-dimensional Euclidean space for this optimal relay node placement problem. A heuristic algorithm is proposed for candidate relay nodes selection and its feasibility considered and verified. Based on the results obtained, an improved algorithm is proposed. Linearization of the algorithm’s complexity is then considered to achieve network load balancing and reliability. Simulation results are presented in conclusion.