The pneumatic tire or air-filled tire is composed of a core filled with airtight sealed pressurized air. Normally, a tread made with reinforced steel belting or other materials, provides the contact part with the road and seals this inner core.
The tire will remain inflated with all the vehicle's weight resting on it, as the air pressure within the tire is more than atmospheric air pressure. The pressure of the air within the tire gives resistance against forces that try to deform the tire. When the tire hits bumps in the road, this gives the tire a slight degree of a cushioning effect. If you have experienced taking a ride in an old-fashioned carriage that had wooden wheels, you know how big of a difference a set of pneumatic tires can make.
Surely, there are several disadvantages to pneumatic tires. For instance in highly dangerous applications or high-performance situations, these tires can suffer a puncture and this would result in a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds can result in a serious car accident. Military planners should take into consideration tires getting blown out by gunfire or explosion shrapnel. A vehicle crew's worst nightmare is becoming trapped within a fire zone due to all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires evidently don't suffer from these problems and hence, can be more suitable in certain applications.
Pneumatic tires have another problem involving variations in air pressure and tire performance. Lower tire pressure can create increased comfort and improved traction. This is due to the fact that tires flatten a little and more tread is touching the road. The pressure of the air inside of the tire works to maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire as well as maintain the "up and down" stiffness. Thus, reduced air pressure enables the sidewalls of the tires to flex. Unfortunately, this leads to poor handling. In an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
There are other problems with air pressure. Customers are notoriously unreliable when it comes to maintaining correct air pressure. Tires that have incorrect air pressure could lead to unsafe situations. It is very essential to bear in mind that pneumatic tires are prone to temperature changes too, which can be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is important to take into consideration the kind of settings you will be needing your machine to function in so that you could frequently check the tires and keep the machine as safe as possible.