The pneumatic tire or air-filled tire is composed of a core filled with airtight sealed pressurized air. Usually, a tread made with reinforced steel belting or other type of materials, seals this inner core and provides the contact part with the road.
The tire will remain inflated with all the vehicle's weight resting on it, because the air pressure within the tire is greater than atmospheric air pressure. The pressure of the air in the tire gives resistance against forces that attempt to deform the tire. This gives the tire a slight degree of a cushioning effect when the tire hits bumps in the road. If you have ever taken a ride in an old-fashioned carriage which had wooden wheels, you know precisely how big of a difference a set of pneumatic tires makes.
Surely, there are several drawbacks to pneumatic tires. Like for instance in high-performance situations or highly dangerous applications, these tires could suffer a puncture and this will lead to a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could result in a serious car accident. Military planners need to take into account tires getting blown out by firing of guns 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 therefore, may be more suitable in some applications.
The pneumatic tire might have problems as well with the variation in air pressure and tire performance. The lower pressure inside a tire may increase the traction and the comfort level. This is due to the fact that tires flatten a little and more tread is placed in contact with the road. The pressure of the air in the tire works to maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire as well as maintain the "up and down" stiffness. Hence, reduced air pressure enables the tires' sidewalls to flex. This leads to poor handling unfortunately. In an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
Air pressure factors into other problems too. When it comes to maintaining correct air pressure, consumers are notoriously unreliable. Wrong air pressure in tires could lead to very dangerous situations. It is essential to note that pneumatic tires are prone to temperature changes also, which can be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is vital to take into account the kind of environments you would be requiring your machinery to operate in so that you could check the tires on a regular basis and keep the machinery as safe as possible.