7. The Critical Function of Axial Fans in Cooling Towers and Power Plants In the massive infrastructure of power generation and industrial cooling fans, axial fans perform a function that is literally critical to the global energy supply: thermal management in cooling towers[21]. Cooling towers are essential components in power plants (nuclear, fossil fuel, and geothermal), oil refineries, and large chemical processing facilities, as they dissipate waste heat to the atmosphere[21]. The primary mechanism of heat rejection is evaporative cooling, which requires a constant, voluminous flow of air[9]. Large-diameter axial fans, often reaching several meters in diameter, are typically installed at the top of induced-draft cooling towers[21]. These fans draw warm, homepage moist air upward through the tower's internal packing, where it contacts falling water that has been heated by the industrial process[21].