Pneumatic Tires
The majority of tires utilized in contemporary times are considered to be pneumatic tires. The utilization of rubber in tires allowed the invention of pneumatic tires which allowed for a much more comfy ride. The world's contemporary transportation system depends completely on pneumatic tires.
The pneumatic tire is a durable rubber tire and is then compressed with air. Motorized vehicles like buses, cars, trucks, motorcycles and airplanes all use pneumatic tires. Wheeled vehicles that are not motorized, like for example bicycles, also utilize pneumatic tires.
History
The tire began following the creation or iron bands utilized around wooden wheels. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the use of solid rubber in the creation of tires. The very 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 term "pneumatic" appeared to describe tires.
In the year 1895, Andre and Edouard Michelin made the very first pneumatic tires for cars in France. The company of the Michelin brothers was destined to become a top manufacturer of car tires. The very first U.S. company to make tires was Goodyear Tire company established in the year 1898, followed by the Firestone Tire & Rubber company in 1900, the second United States company to make tires.
Function
A rubber inner tube was used in all pneumatic tires in the first part of the 20th century to be able help hold the air pressure. Tires were made of toughened layers of cord or plies covered with rubber. The plies were laid on a bias or angle to strengthen it and to define the tire's shape. 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 require no inner tube because the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was the Michelin's brother's creation in 1948. The tires did not become widely used until the latter parts of the 1970s. Radial tires last longer and offer better fuel economy.