Energy analysis and optimisation in amplify-and-forward wireless relay networks

Abstract

In this paper, three kinds of transmission strategies are dealt with: 1) direct transmission without relay; 2) relay transmission without a direct link; and 3) relay transmission with a direct link. We first develop an analytical framework for the total energy consumption per transferred payload bit in amplify-and-forward wireless relay networks. In this framework, analytical expressions of the total energy consumption are derived for the three transmission strategies, which are functions of the following network parameters: packet length, transmission energy, coding rate, modulation, transmission distance, relay location. Then, the three transmission strategies are optimised to minimise the total energy consumption with respect to the packet length and the transmission energy. By simulation, we compare the three transmission strategies in terms of the total energy consumption per transferred payload bit. Our results provide several insights into the choice of transmission strategy if some network parameters are given.