Ambient self-powered cluster-based wireless sensor networks for industry 4.0 applications

Smart grid is one of the major prospective candidates in the Industrial Internet of Things family that ensures smooth and efficient power distribution, restoration in times of emergency, and usage control for the consumers. Electric power generators contribute at the core of smart grid along with the transmission lines and transformers. Extensive research works are conducted to optimize different parameters such as efficient energy usage, automated demand response, and emergency grid failure recovery. However, the component status analysis of the electric generators within a smart grid is still in the nascent stage. In this paper, we propose a novel routing protocol for supervised device-data transfer from smart grid generators to the command and control center using wireless ad hoc and sensor networks. Our protocol assumes various sensor devices (temperature sensors, oil level sensor, turbine status sensors, etc.) to be employed on each generator due to their mechanical sophistication. Additionally, we introduce the ambient energy harvesting for the sensors energy replenishment to accommodate tolerable node outage. Our simulation results demonstrate promising outcome with respect to different key parameters such as message flow, energy consumption, outage frequency, remaining energy, and harvested energy.