The air-filled or pneumatic tire consists of a core filled with airtight sealed pressurized air. Typically, a tread made with reinforced steel belting or other kind of materials, provides the contact area with the road and seals this inner core.
Because the air pressure inside the tire is greater than atmospheric air pressure, the tire remains inflated even with a vehicles' weight resting on it. The air pressure in the tire provides resistance against forces which 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 which had wooden wheels, you know exactly how big of a difference a set of pneumatic tires makes.
Surely, there are some disadvantages to pneumatic tires. Like 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 can lead to a serious car accident. Military planners must take into consideration tires getting blown out by shooting of guns or explosion shrapnel. A vehicle crew's worst nightmare is becoming trapped in a fire zone due to all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires obviously don't suffer from these problems and thus, in some applications, may be more suitable.
Pneumatic tires have one more problem involving variations in tire performance and air pressure. Lower tire pressure can create increased comfort and improved traction. This is because of the fact that tires flatten a little and more tread is placed in contact with 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. Therefore, less air pressure allows 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 correct air pressure. Tires which have incorrect air pressure could lead to dangerous situations. It is really important to keep in mind that pneumatic tires are prone to temperature changes also, that can be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is very vital to take into account the type of settings you will be needing your machine to operate in so that you can frequently check the tires and keep the machine as safe as possible.