Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are very important for monitoring underground mine safety. Sensor node deployment affects the performances of WSNs. In our study, a chain-type wireless underground mine sensor network (CWUMSN) is first pre- sented. A CWUMSN can monitor the environment and locate miners in underground mines. The lowest density deployment strate- gies of cluster head nodes are discussed theoretically. We prove that the lifetime of CWUMSN with a non-uniform deployment strategy is longer than with a uniform deployment strategy. Secondly, we present the algorithm of non-uniform lowest density de- ployment of cluster head nodes. Next, we propose a dynamic choice algorithm of cluster head nodes for CWUMSN which can im- prove the adaptability of networks. Our experiments of CWUMSN with both non-uniform lowest density and uniform lowest den- sity deployments are simulated. The results show that the lifetime of CWUMSN with non-uniform lowest density deployment is almost 2.5 times as long as that of the uniform lowest density deployment. This work provides a new deployment strategy for wire- less underground mine sensor networks and then effectively promotes the application of wireless sensor networks to underground mines.
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