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 area with the road and seals this inner core.
Since the air pressure within the tire is more 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 that had wooden wheels, you know precisely how huge of a difference a set of pneumatic tires makes.
Surely, there are some drawbacks to pneumatic tires. Like for instance in high-performance situations or highly dangerous applications, these tires can suffer a puncture and this will result in a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds can lead to a serious car crash. Military planners must take into consideration tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or firing of guns. The worst nightmare of a vehicle crew is becoming trapped within a fire zone due to all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires obviously don't suffer from these kind of problems and therefore, may be more suitable in some applications.
Pneumatic tires have another issue involving variations in air pressure and tire performance. Lower tire pressure could create improved traction and increased comfort. This is because of the fact that tires flatten slightly and more tread is touching the road. The air pressure inside of the tire works to maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire as well as maintain the "up and down" stiffness. Hence, reduced air pressure allows the sidewalls of the tires to flex. This results in poor handling unfortunately. In an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
There are other issues with air pressure. Consumers are notoriously unreliable when it comes to maintaining proper air pressure. Tires that have improper air pressure could lead to dangerous situations. It is really important to note that pneumatic tires are susceptible to temperature changes too, that can be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is vital to consider the type of environments you will be requiring your equipment to function in so that you could frequently check the tires and keep the equipment as safe as possible.