Pneumatic Tires
Nearly all of the tires which have been utilized during the past 100 years have been pneumatic tires. They are made from rubber and allow for a way more comfy ride compared to other types of materials. The world's contemporary transportation system completely depends on pneumatic tires.
A pneumatic tire is a type of tire constructed of reinforced rubber and filled with compressed air. Motor vehicles including trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles and airplanes all use pneumatic tires. Wheeled vehicles which are not motorized, like bicycles, also utilize pneumatic tires.
History
The tire began following the creation or iron bands used around wooden wheels. It wasn't until the middle part of the 19th century that the utilization 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 in the year 1888. 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 leading manufacturer of automobile tires. The very first company in the United States to produce tires was Goodyear Tire company founded in the year 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 help hold the air pressure. Tires were made of reinforced layers of cord or plies covered with rubber. The plies were laid on a bias or angle to strengthen it and to define the shape of the tire. 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. Inner tube is not required because the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was an invention of the Michelin company in 1948. The tires did not become widely used until the latter parts of the 1970s. Radial tires offer better fuel economy and last longer.