Why plane tires don't explode on impact.what is the reason?

 around 100 000 commercial planes take off and land every single day that's

almost two flights per second but how

often have you heard of a plane's tires blowing out during landing it's

extremely uncommon here is why plane tires are different from the tires you encounter on a day-to-day basis theyonly really resemble automobile tires in shape when it comes to tire design

special considerations have to be given to the materials used and how they integrate with the plane's safety

features let's start with materials you

can imagine that regular rubber alone just isn't going to cut it for a plane's

tires that is why plane tires are

reinforced with aramid it's an incredibly strong synthetic

fiber known for its heat resistant

properties and has a melting point of 932 degrees fahrenheit for reference

average rubber will catch fire and begin

melting at around 500 degrees Fahrenheit aramid is also resistant to abrasion

which allows plane tires to be used for

up to 500 flights that's great news for

plane technicians as each tire can take up to an hour to change

but the differences don't end there another key differentiation between

plane tires and regular tires is in

commonly filled up to around 30 psi plane tires start at 200 psi the higher

pressure makes them extremely firm

almost rock hard they better be with commercial planes regularly clocking in

at over 100 tons tires need to be as firm as possible to ensure they don't

give under all that weight each plane

tire is able to withstand a weight load of up to 38 tons

so the heavier the plane the more tires it needs to ensure a smooth

explosion-free landing it's not just how

plane tires are filled up that makes a

difference either what they're filled up with also matters instead of regular

compressed air plane tires are filled with nitrogen while nitrogen does make

up 78 of what we understand as air the other

gases found in air are unsuitable for use in plane tires engineers choose to

use nitrogen due to its properties as an

inert gas which negates the effects that changes in temperature and pressure

would normally cause in short it's stable

aside from this plane tires also come with a host of fail-safes to prevent

tire failure on the tarmac

one fail-safe is actually common among cars the anti-lock braking system or abs

abs prevents wheels from locking up

while braking these systems automatically engage during emergency

situations when the tires are at risk of

locking up this works in conjunction with an anti-skid computer installed on

an airplane sensors on the wheel communicate with

the computer to relieve brake pressure

this prevents the loss of traction when

braking which would quickly lead to the explosion of the tires

another fail-safe is unique to plane tires the fusible plug these plugs melt

once they reach a certain temperature

threshold causing the plane's tires to deflate safely rather than blow out

these especially come in handy during instances where maximum braking is

applied common scenarios where this is used include emergency landings or

aborted takeoffs the safety measures

seen in the design of a plane's tires are but one piece of the puzzle

engineers have honed the systems behind planes over the last century to the

point where according to statistics boarding a plane is safer than swimming goodbye tom driving or even taking your bike out for a ride

so the next time you find yourself on a plane you can rest assured that nothing

will go wrong.