Induced cross-draft and natural ambient winds affect cooling fan performance in air-cooled condensers, which is a considerable detrimental factor to power plants in arid regions. Against this background, this work tries to comprehensively examine the various effects of uniform ambient flow fields on single axial fans. Deviating from the common approach in pertinent research to study multiple fans operating in an array, this work's research examines a single fan inside a uniform flow field under varying conditions. Investigated fan parameters include operating point, blade shape, installation conditions, and orientation in flow field. A specific fan test rig was designed and used to assess ambient flow field influence on integral fan performance in a wind tunnel environment. Detailed information on the resultant flow field is investigated using Laser Doppler Anemometry and numerical methods. Fan blade vibration is captured with Tracking Laser Scanning Vibrometry. Finally, this work presents experimental and numerical investigations of the cross-flow influence on fan noise.
