In this paper, a newly developed crack advanced gage (CAG) is used to measure the crack position in a dynamic mode II fracture toughness measurement test. The CAG is easy to setup and relatively inexpensive compared to commercial dynamic crack gages available in the market. The CAG was used to detect the initiation of a mode II crack and subsequent propagation in layered textile Z-pinned composite. The results show mat the CAG can accurately capture the time history of the crack position. As the Z-pin density increases, the "crack arrest" period during which the crack momentarily stops, becomes longer, leading to an increase in the mode II fracture toughness as the Z-pin density increases.
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