The acoustic emission technique is widely used for mechanical diagnostics and damage characterization in reinforced concrete structures. This article experimentally investigated the feasibility of debonding characterization in fiber-reinforced polymer rebar reinforced concrete using acoustic emission technique. To this end, carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer rebar reinforced concrete specimens were prepared and they were subjected to pullout tests to study the interfacial debonding between concrete and reinforcement. Test results showed that the debonding failure between concrete and reinforcement was characterized by the total peeling off of the helical wrapping layer of the carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer reinforcement. The response of acoustic emission activity was analyzed by descriptive parameters, such as cumulative acoustic emission hits, amplitude, and peak frequency. The evolution of debonding failure is thus characterized by these acoustic emission parameters. The results demonstrated a clear correlation between the damage evolution of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer rebar pullout and the acoustic emission parameters. In addition, finite element analysis was adopted to study the stress field during the pullout of the reinforcement. The simulation results agreed well with the experimental investigations.
