Pneumatic Tires
Nearly all of the tires which have been used over the last 100 years have been pneumatic tires. They are constructed of rubber and allow for a far more comfortable ride than other types of materials. The contemporary transportation system of the world completely depends on pneumatic tires.
The pneumatic tire is a reinforced rubber tire and is then compressed with air. Motorized vehicles like for instance cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and airplanes all utilize pneumatic tires. Non-motorized wheeled vehicles, such as bicycles, also use pneumatic tires.
History
The tire began after the creation or iron bands utilized around wooden wheels. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the utilization of solid rubber in the creation of tires. The first patent for a successful pneumatic tire was issued in 1888 to Irishman John Dunlop who created an inner-tube for a bicycle tire in the year 1888. This was when the term "pneumatic" appeared to describe tires.
In 1895, Andre and Edouard Michelin made the first pneumatic tires for cars in France. The company of the Michelin brothers was destined to become a top manufacturer of tires for cars. The first U.S. company to produce tires was Goodyear Tire company founded in the year 1898, followed by the Firestone Tire & Rubber company in the year 1900, the second company in the US to produce tires.
Function
For the first half of the 20th century, pneumatic tires needed a rubber inner tube to hold the air pressure. Tires were constructed of reinforced layers of plies or cord covered with rubber. The plies were laid on an angle or bias to define the tire's shape and strengthen it. These "bias ply" tires had a tread pattern for traction.
Modern radial tires are made with the plies running at 90 degrees across the tire body. They need no inner tube since the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was an invention of the Michelin company in the year 1948. The tires did not become widely utilized until the latter parts of the 1970s. Radial tires last longer and offer better fuel economy.