A pneumatic or air-filled tire is composed on an inner core which is sealed airtight and filled with 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.
Because the pressure of the air in the tire is more than atmospheric air pressure, the tire remains inflated even with a vehicles' weight resting on it. The pressure of the air inside 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 experienced taking a ride in an old-fashioned carriage that had wooden wheels, you understand how huge of a difference a set of pneumatic tires could make.
Surely, there are several drawbacks to pneumatic tires. For instance in highly dangerous applications or high-performance situations, these tires can suffer a puncture and this will result in a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could lead to a serious car crash. Military planners have to take into account tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or firing of guns. A vehicle crew's worst nightmare is becoming trapped within a fire zone due to all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires obviously don't suffer from these issues and therefore, may be more suitable in certain applications.
The pneumatic tire may have issues 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 slightly and more tread is touching the road. The air pressure inside of the tire works to maintain the "up and down" stiffness as well as maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire. Therefore, less air pressure enables the sidewalls of the tires to flex. Unfortunately, this results in poor handling. In an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
There are other problems with air pressure. Consumers are notoriously unreliable when it comes to maintaining proper air pressure. Tires that have incorrect air pressure can result in unsafe situations. It is very essential to bear in mind that pneumatic tires are susceptible to temperature changes too, which could be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is important to take into account the type of settings you will be needing your machine to operate in so that you can frequently inspect the tires and keep the machinery as safe as possible.