The pneumatic tire or air-filled tire consists of a core filled with airtight sealed pressurized air. Typically, a tread made with reinforced steel belting or other type of materials, provides the contact part with the road and seals this inner core.
The tire will remain inflated with all the weight of the vehicle resting on it, because the air pressure in the tire is more than atmospheric air pressure. The pressure of the air inside the tire provides resistance against forces which try to deform the tire. This gives the tire a slight degree of a cushioning effect as the tire hits bumps in the road. If you have ever taken a ride in an old-fashioned carriage that had wooden wheels, you know 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 could suffer a puncture and this will result in a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds can result in a dangerous car crash. Military planners must take into consideration tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or shooting of guns. A vehicle crew's worst nightmare is becoming trapped in a fire zone due to all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires evidently don't suffer from these problems and thus, in certain applications, might be more suitable.
The pneumatic tire might have problems as well with the variation in air pressure and tire performance. The lower pressure inside a tire can 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 air pressure in the tire works to maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire as well as maintain the "up and down" stiffness. Thus, reduced air pressure allows the sidewalls of the tires to flex. This results in poor handling unfortunately. Within an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
There are other issues with air pressure. Customers are notoriously unreliable when it comes to maintaining correct air pressure. Tires that have wrong air pressure could lead to dangerous situations. It is vital to note that pneumatic tires are prone to temperature changes too, that can be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is very important to take into account the type of settings you will be needing your machine to function in so that you could frequently check the tires and keep the machinery as safe as possible.