ABSTRACT
Lifetime maximization of a wireless sensor network (WSN) is a two-stage process, namely, optimal network design and optimal energy allocation. It is known that the lifetime of a WSN can be maximized by an optimal network design. The main contribution of the present chapter is to develop an algorithm to find an optimal network design which maximizes the lifetime of a WSN obtained by optimal initial energy allocation for an arbitrary sensor distribution. It is shown that the optimal WSN design problem can be formulated as a nonlinear system of equations. Our results reveal the fact that an optimal network design has different widths of annuli. In particular, in an optimal network design, an annulus closer to a sink has a larger width. Compared with a network design with identical annulus widths, a network design with variable annulus widths can lead to a noticeable increment of network lifetime.
