A pneumatic or air-filled tire is composed on an inner core which is sealed airtight and filled with pressurized air. Usually, a tread made with reinforced steel belting or other type of materials, provides the contact part with the road and seals this inner core.
Since the air pressure in the tire is greater than atmospheric air pressure, the tire remains inflated even with the weight of the vehicle resting on it. The pressure of the air inside the tire provides resistance against forces that attempt 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 which had wooden wheels, you know exactly how huge of a difference a set of pneumatic tires could make.
Pneumatic tires also come with drawbacks. High-performance situations or highly dangerous applications for instance, these tires can suffer a puncture and this will lead to a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could lead to a serious car accident. Military planners have to take into consideration tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or firing of guns. A vehicle crew's worst nightmare is becoming trapped in a fire zone because of all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires evidently don't suffer from these problems and thus, can be more suitable in certain applications.
Pneumatic tires have another issue involving variations in air pressure and tire performance. Lower tire pressure could create increased comfort and improved traction. This is because of the fact that tires flatten a little and more tread is touching the road. The air pressure in the tire works to maintain the "up and down" stiffness as well as maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire. Therefore, reduced air pressure allows the sidewalls of the tires to flex. This leads to poor handling unfortunately. 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 proper air pressure. Tires which have wrong air pressure could result in dangerous situations. It is really essential to bear in mind that pneumatic tires are prone to temperature changes too, which could be responsible for changing the internal tire pressure. It is vital to consider the type of environments you will be needing your machinery to operate in so that you can inspect the tires on a regular basis and keep the machine as safe as possible.