8.3 Self-Reinforcement Behavior of NR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8.3.1 Tensile Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8.3.2 Tear Property: Delay of Crack Growth by Template
Crystallization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
8.3.3 Fatigue Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
8.3.4 Novel Functional Properties of Cross-Linked NR . . . . . . . 158
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Part IV Prospective Views on Rubber Reinforcement
9 Reinforcement in the Twenty-First Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
9.1 Globalization and Sustainable Development: Historical
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
9.1.1 Globalization: Transportation and Information . . . . . . . . . . 167
9.1.2 Rapid Progress of Technology and Social Changes . . . . . . 171
9.2 Soft Materials in the Twenty-First Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
9.3 Soft Nanocomposites in the Twenty-First Century . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
9.3.1 Transportation Society and Rubber Reinforcement . . . . . . . 177
9.3.2 Future of Reinforced Rubbery Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
xii
Contents