Generally, sulfate attack on concrete structures exposed to sulfate rich-soil can
start at early-age. In addition, most cast in-situ concrete structures are not cured for
28 days and are usually surface coated at early-age to accelerate the construction
process. Therefore, in this study, concrete cylinders were de-molded after 24 h from
casting and divided into two groups. The first group was kept at ambient laboratory
temperature (20 C [68 F]–23 C [73 F]) for 72 h before coating, while the other
group was cured for 28 days before coating and exposure to the sulfate environment.
The curing was carried out according to