The harsh plateau environment characterized by low temperature, low humidity, and low air pressure (referred to as "triple-low" conditions) in plateau areas significantly affects the concrete workability, leading to reduced compactness and uniformity during concrete placement, which in turn induces initial defects such as pores and micro-cracks. These defects not only directly weaken the mechanical properties of concrete structures but also create channels for the ingress of moisture and corrosive media over time, seriously threatening their long-term durability. Currently, research on concrete performance affected by the "triple-low" environment has mainly focused on hardened mechanical properties and durability, whereas research on early-age properties has tended to focus on individual indicators such as bubble stability during cement hydration. Although relevant data have been accumulated, a comprehensive explanation of the mechanisms of plateau "triple-low" environmental conditions on concrete workability remains lacking, along with a systematic overview of the effects of single environmental factors and multifactor environmental coupling on concrete workability. Furthermore, existing research on characterization and analysis methods for concrete workability remains insufficient, and systematic summaries of performance regulation and enhancement measures tailored to plateau environments remain limited. To gain an in-depth understanding of the effects of plateau “triple-low” environments on concrete workability, this paper reviews the influence patterns and mechanisms from three aspects: environmental impact mechanisms, performance characterization methods, and regulation and enhancement measures.

Environmental impact mechanisms: The workability of concrete is closely related to bubble structure and cement hydration, whereas the "triple-low" environmental factors alter the cement hydration process and bubble structure in concrete. Low temperatures can slow cement hydration and admixture adsorption, thereby increasing the viscosity of fresh concrete; low humidity accelerates water evaporation, affecting cement hydration and reducing water retention; low pressure hinders bubble entrainment and stabilization, leading to greater air-content loss and weaker bubble lubrication. When these three factors act jointly, more complex coupling effects occur, thereby further exacerbating the deterioration of concrete workability.

Characterization and analysis methods: To accurately evaluate the performance of concrete in plateau environments, more advanced testing and simulation methods are needed. For testing methods, current approaches mainly rely on environmental simulation equipment combined with traditional experimental techniques, yet there is still a lack of specialized testing technologies suitable for coupled environmental factors. For characterization models, although environmental parameters or preliminary coupled models have been introduced to improve accuracy, they do not adequately capture the actual influence of multifield coupling, resulting in substantial deviations between predicted and measured values. In numerical simulations, while methods such as finite-element and discrete-element analyses can provide multi-scale insights into single-factor mechanisms, they have not yet achieved systematic simulation of coupling among multiple environmental factors.

Regulation and enhancement measures: Current research primarily improves workability from the following three aspects. In terms of admixtures, air-entraining agents, polymers, antifreeze agents, water reducers, and nanomaterials have been shown to be effective in improving workability, and the ongoing development of new admixtures provides a basis for further enhancement. Additionally, regulating bubble structure and optimizing mixing processes can compensate for air-content loss, enhance bubble stability, and adjust rheological properties, thereby improving the workability of concrete.