Advancements in Hybrid Draft Cooling Technology: A Systematic Review of Performance Optimization, System Design, and Thermal‐Flow Analysis

Hybrid draft cooling systems have emerged as an alternative for balancing cooling‐water consumption and thermal performance, but the existing literature remains fragmented across performance optimization, system configuration, and thermal‐flow analysis. This systematic review addresses this gap by synthesizing and critically comparing 30 peer‐reviewed studies published from 2015 to 2026, selected from 85 initially identified records using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) framework. The reviewed studies were organized into three interconnected themes: performance optimization and predictive modeling, system design and configuration, and thermal‐flow performance and operational analysis. The comparative synthesis shows that natural‐draft hybrid configurations can reduce water consumption by more than 95% relative to wet cooling under the reported conditions, although this benefit may involve an annual economic penalty of approximately US$15.46 million. For mechanically assisted systems, optimized fan operation has been associated with more than 50% energy savings, while hybrid mechanistic–machine‐learning models have achieved predictive accuracy of R 2 > 0.99. Design‐oriented studies further indicate that internal dry‐zone integration can reduce visible plume area by 45.5%, whereas mechanical‐draft hybrid configurations have reported water savings of 5.9%–14.4% with an outlet thermal‐performance penalty of 0.8°C–1.0°C. These findings demonstrate that hybrid‐cooling performance is governed by coupled water allocation, airflow resistance, ambient conditions, dry‐zone configuration, and auxiliary‐fan operation rather than by a single design parameter. The review also identifies persistent gaps in long‐term fouling characterization, adaptive control, multiobjective optimization, life‐cycle cost assessment, and transferability across climatic and operational conditions. The resulting synthesis provides a quantitative basis for evaluating water–energy–thermal trade‐offs and for developing more adaptable and economically viable hybrid draft cooling systems.