A pneumatic or air-filled tire consists of an inner core which is sealed airtight and filled with pressurized air. Usually, a reinforced steel belted tread or other materials, provides the contact area with the road and seals this inner core.
Since the pressure of the air in the tire is greater than atmospheric air pressure, the tire remains inflated even with a vehicles' weight resting on it. The pressure of the air in the tire provides 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 experienced taking a ride in an old-fashioned carriage which had wooden wheels, you know exactly how huge of a difference a set of pneumatic tires can make.
Pneumatic tires also come with drawbacks. High-performance situations or highly dangerous applications for instance, these tires could suffer a puncture and this would lead to a complete failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could result in a serious car accident. Military planners should 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 because of all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires obviously don't suffer from these kind of problems and thus, could be more suitable in certain applications.
Pneumatic tires have one more issue involving variations in air pressure and tire performance. Lower tire pressure can create increased comfort and improved traction. This is due to the fact that tires flatten a little and more tread is touching the road. The air pressure in the tire works to maintain the "up and down" stiffness as well as maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire. Thus, reduced air pressure enables the tires' sidewalls to flex. This results in poor handling unfortunately. Within 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 wrong air pressure could result in unsafe situations. It is really important to bear in mind that pneumatic tires are also susceptible to temperature changes, which could be responsible for changing the internal tire pressure. It is essential to consider the kind of settings you will be needing your equipment to operate in so that you can frequently inspect the tires and keep the equipment as safe as possible.