The intergranular corrosion susceptibility of 2024 Al alloy during re–ageing after solution treating and cold–rolling

•No intergranular corrosion occured for the peak–re–aged and over–re–aged 2024 Al alloy.•Absence of intergranular corrosion in the re–aged samples resulted from no continuous grain boundary S–Al2CuMg phase.•Aggregated pits were observed in the over–re–aged samples.•Aggregated pitting corrosion was related to the preferential precipitation of S–phase on the dislocation cell walls. The intergranular corrosion (IGC) susceptibility of 2024 Al alloy during re–ageing after solution treating and cold–rolling was investigated by accelerated corrosion testing, open circuit potential testing, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The absence of IGC in both the peak–re–aged and over–re–aged samples is related to the dislocation pile–ups which prevent the supersaturated solutes from diffusing into the grain boundaries and precipitating the continuous S–Al2CuMg phase. The aggregated pitting corrosion in the over–re–aged samples arises from the S–phase precipitates on the dislocation cell walls which accelerate the anodic dissolution of the cell interiors.