The pneumatic tire or air-filled tire is composed of a core filled with airtight sealed pressurized air. Typically, a reinforced steel belted tread or other type of materials, provides the contact area with the road and seals this inner core.
Since the pressure of the air within the tire is more than atmospheric air pressure, the tire remains inflated even with a vehicles' weight resting on it. The air pressure inside the tire gives resistance against forces which 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 ever taken a ride in an old-fashioned carriage which had wooden wheels, you know how big of a difference a set of pneumatic tires makes.
Surely, there are some disadvantages to pneumatic tires. For instance in high-performance situations or highly dangerous applications, these tires could suffer a puncture and this would lead to a complete failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could lead to a serious car accident. Military planners must take into consideration tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or gunfire. 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 kind of issues and therefore, might be more suitable in certain applications.
The pneumatic tire may have issues as well with the variation in tire performance and air pressure. The lower pressure in 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 pressure of the air inside of the tire works to maintain the "up and down" stiffness as well as maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire. Thus, less air pressure allows the sidewalls of the tires 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 also. When it comes to maintaining proper air pressure, customers are notoriously undependable. Incorrect air pressure within tires could result in very unsafe situations. It is vital to keep in mind that pneumatic tires are also prone to temperature changes, which could be responsible for changing the internal tire pressure. It is essential to consider the type of environments you will be requiring your machine to operate in so that you can regularly check the tires and keep the machine as safe as possible.