Pneumatic Tires
The majority of tires used in modern times are considered to be pneumatic tires. The utilization of rubber in tires enabled the creation of pneumatic tires that allowed for a much more comfortable ride. The contemporary transportation system of the world relies completely on pneumatic tires.
The pneumatic tire is a durable rubber tire and is then compressed with air. Motor vehicles including trucks, buses, cars, airplanes and motorcycles all utilize pneumatic tires. Non-motorized wheeled vehicles, like for instance bicycles, also utilize pneumatic tires.
History
The history of tires starts with the invention of iron bands around wooden wheels. The use of solid rubber in the construction of tires started during the middle part of the 19th century. The first patent for a successful pneumatic tire was issued in 1888 to Irishman John Dunlop who invented an inner-tube for a bicycle tire. This was when the word "pneumatic" appeared to describe tires.
Seven years after, in the year 1895, Edouard and Andre Michelin produced pneumatic tires for a car in France. The Michelin brothers' company was destined to become a top producer of tires for automobiles. The first U.S. company to produce tires was Goodyear Tire company founded in 1898, followed by the Firestone Tire & Rubber company in 1900, the second company in the United States to produce tires.
Function
A rubber inner tube was used in all pneumatic tires in the first half of the 20th century to be able help hold the air pressure. Tires were made of toughened layers of plies or cord covered with rubber. The plies were laid on an angle or bias to strengthen it and to define the tire's shape. These "bias ply" tires had a tread pattern for traction.
Modern radial tires are constructed with the plies running at 90 degrees across the tire body. They require no inner tube as the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was the Michelin's brother's invention in the year 1948. The tires did not become commonly used until the latter parts of the 1970s. Radial tires provide better fuel economy and last longer.