An air-filled or pneumatic tire is composed on an inner core that is sealed airtight and filled with pressurized air. Typically, a reinforced steel belted tread or other kind of materials, seals this inner core and provides the contact part with the road.
Because the air pressure within 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 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 which had wooden wheels, you understand how huge of a difference a set of pneumatic tires makes.
Surely, there are some drawbacks to pneumatic tires. For instance in high-performance situations or highly dangerous applications, these tires can suffer a puncture and this will lead to a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds can result in a dangerous car crash. Military planners need to consider tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or shooting of guns. A vehicle crew's worst nightmare is becoming trapped within a fire zone because of all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires obviously don't suffer from these type of issues and therefore, could be more suitable in certain applications.
Pneumatic tires have another problem involving variations in tire performance and air pressure. Lower tire pressure could create increased comfort and improved traction. 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 tires' sidewalls to flex. This leads to poor handling unfortunately. Within an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
Air pressure factors into other issues too. With regards to to maintaining correct air pressure, customers are notoriously unreliable. Improper air pressure within tires could result in really unsafe situations. It is really vital to note that pneumatic tires are also susceptible to temperature changes, which could be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is very important to take into account the kind of settings you will be needing your equipment to operate in so that you could inspect the tires on a regular basis and keep the equipment as safe as possible.