Pneumatic Tire Definition
"Pneumatic" is a Greek term for "spirit". "Pneuma" means something that is filled with air. The majority of tires you use or see nowadays are more than likely pneumatic tires. The fact is, nearly all private motor vehicles and modern commercial transportation could not function without using pneumatic tires.
Pneumatic tires as defined by Webster's online dictionary are described as tires which are constructed from reinforced rubber, that hold compressed air. Any type of tire that requires air pressure to hold its form is considered to be a pneumatic tire.
John Boyd Dunlop, the Irish surgeon has been credited to inventing the pneumatic tire. He developed the first practical pneumatic bicycle tire in the year 1888. During 1895, the Michelin brothers Edouard and Andre, the Michelin brothers were the very first to use pneumatic tires on a car during a race.
Pneumatic tires are made from numerous bands of corded or plys fabric. Plys are normally coated with rubber which enables them to hold air pressure. Bias ply tires have the plys overlaid at a particular angle to the other layers. Radial tires have all plys laid at 90 degrees to the tire body or casing.
In tube tires, there are a type of rubber inner tube to hold the air pressure. Bicycle tires, motorcycle tires on spoke rims and car tires and older bias ply truck use inner tubes. Tubeless tires have a stiff bead on the sidewall edges that creates an airtight seal with the wheel. This type of tire does not need an inner tube.
Pneumatic tires can be punctured and lose air pressure that makes them unsuitable for certain applications. Tires used on forklifts, tires used in construction, tires utilized by the military are often constructed with solid rubber or filled with resilient foam.