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Critical infrastructure relies on combinations of steel, concrete, polymers and polymer composites—not one universally strongest material. The right choice depends on the job: pressure and structural loads, temperature, chemical and moisture exposure, radiation, electrical function, installation conditions, inspection access and long-term maintenance. U.S. pipeline systems and long-lived nuclear power plants show why reliability comes from matching materials to conditions and managing them throughout service.
What materials are used in critical infrastructure?
Steel and other metals, concrete and cementitious materials, polymers, and polymer composites are common material classes across infrastructure-related manufacturing, construction and transportation sectors, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). They appear in different roles and are often used together. A pipeline, for example, needs a pressure-bearing pipe and corrosion controls; a power plant also depends on structures, buried piping, reactor components and electrical cables.
| Material family | Infrastructure roles | Key consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Steel and other metals | Structural members, pressure pipe, equipment and reactor components | Steel can serve higher-pressure pipeline duties, but corrosion protection and monitoring are important. The risks associated with older iron alloys, old joints or uncoated bare steel should not be generalized to every modern steel system. |
| Concrete and cementitious materials | Civil structures, foundations and power-plant structures | Long-term service life can be difficult to predict. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) treats concrete aging as a distinct area in its nuclear materials work. |
| Polymers and polymer composites | Plastic distribution pipe, cable insulation, coatings, adhesives, seals and composite components | Some polymers resist corrosion, but they may not provide the strength needed for high-pressure pipe. NIST notes that laboratory performance may differ from real-world performance because exposure conditions and degradation rates matter. |
| Electrical cable insulation | Insulation around conductors in power-plant electrical systems | Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) can age under thermal and radiation exposure; moisture can change dielectric properties. Performance depends on the insulation formulation and material. |
NIST identifies polyethylene uses that include piping, cables, construction wrap and geomembranes. This range illustrates why a material’s name alone does not establish its suitability: formulation, exposure and the specific job all matter.
How should engineers match materials to the job?
Material selection is a balance among performance, construction and the work needed to keep an asset reliable. A useful comparison starts with the operating conditions, then considers how the material can be installed, inspected and maintained over time.
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- Pressure and load: Determine the pressure a pipe must withstand and the structural loads a component must carry. GAO reports that steel supports higher pipeline operating pressures than plastics and emerging composites.
- Exposure: Account for temperature, moisture, soil, transported products, contaminants and radiation. A material that performs well in one environment may degrade differently in another.
- Inspection and repair: Consider whether the asset can be inspected and whether damage can be repaired or the component replaced in time. Material condition is part of the reliability decision, not just initial selection.
- Lifecycle needs: Compare installation and purchase requirements with continuing protection, inspection and maintenance. GAO notes that coatings can degrade and cathodic protection requires ongoing maintenance and electricity over long distances.
- Supply risk: Consider whether critical materials can be sourced reliably. DOE’s 2023 energy-sector assessment evaluated criticality using a material’s importance to the energy sector and its supply risk.
In that 2023 assessment, DOE considered 38 materials used by eight major technologies and evaluated 23 materials for criticality after screening. Those counts describe the scope of the assessment, not a ranking of every material used in infrastructure.
Why does corrosion threaten pipelines?
Corrosion is an electrochemical process that oxidizes steel and removes metal. If it thins a pipe wall and is left unmitigated, the damage can lead to a leak or, less commonly, a rupture, according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). PHMSA describes corrosion as a time-dependent threat: it can grow or worsen over time without mitigation.
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Where pipeline corrosion begins
External corrosion can develop when steel is exposed to soil, air or water. Internal corrosion can follow exposure to transported products or contaminants, including water, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. Other mechanisms identified by PHMSA include stress corrosion cracking, microbiologically influenced corrosion, stray-current interference and selective seam corrosion.
What historical incident figures show
PHMSA’s figures are historical and apply to specific pipeline categories and periods; they should not be read as current rates or as representative of all infrastructure.
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| Pipeline category | Period | Incidents attributed to corrosion | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas transmission, gas gathering and hazardous-liquid pipelines | 2013–2017 | About 17% of reported incidents | PHMSA fact sheet, accessed 2026 |
| Natural-gas distribution pipelines | 2013–2017 | About 1% of reported incidents | PHMSA fact sheet, accessed 2026 |
| Pipeline incidents, average | 1998–2017 | About 18% caused by corrosion | PHMSA fact sheet, accessed 2026 |
The different values are not contradictory: the periods and pipeline categories differ. They describe reported pipeline incidents in those historical windows, not the probability that a particular pipe will fail.
Why age alone does not tell the whole story
PHMSA records show that cast or wrought iron was used in gas distribution through the 1940s, steel use expanded extensively beginning in the 1950s, and plastic became prevalent in distribution from the early 1970s. The agency flags age and bare steel without protective coating as risk indicators. It also notes historical brittle failures in some plastic pipes manufactured in the early 1970s, while stating that modern plastic pipe is manufactured to resist brittle failure. These historical observations are not blanket judgments about current plastic or steel systems; condition, construction and protection matter.
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How can pipeline materials be protected from corrosion?
Corrosion control is a system of measures, not a property supplied by the pipe material alone. PHMSA names material selection, protective coatings, cathodic protection, corrosion inhibitors and line cleaning as prevention methods. Pipeline integrity management also includes inspection, testing, assessment and timely repair or replacement.
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- Choose for the service: Account for pressure and the environment in which the pipe will operate.
- Apply protective measures: Use suitable coatings, cathodic protection or inhibitors as appropriate to the asset and operating conditions.
- Manage internal conditions: Line cleaning is one of the prevention methods PHMSA identifies.
- Inspect and assess: Use integrity-management work to identify degradation and assess the pipe’s condition.
- Act on findings: Make repairs or replace pipe in a timely way when assessment indicates a need.
The controls themselves need management. GAO reports that coatings can degrade, while cathodic protection requires continuing maintenance and electricity over long distances. That is why comparing steel and plastic only by purchase price misses important operating and maintenance needs. GAO’s analysis describes steel as supporting higher pressures but costing more than plastics and requiring corrosion protection; plastics and emerging composites generally resist corrosion but lack the strength for high-pressure applications.
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What do aging power plants need from their materials?
Long-lived nuclear power plants depend on more than reactor metals. DOE organizes materials-aging work around reactor metals, concrete, cables, buried piping and mitigation. Each area presents a different condition-monitoring problem: structural concrete, buried pipe, reactor components and cable insulation do not age in the same way.
Cable insulation needs condition-specific assessment
A 2026 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) review discusses thermal and radiation aging in XLPE and EPR cable insulation, as well as moisture-related changes in dielectric properties. The authors emphasize that aging mechanisms and performance vary by insulation formulation and material. They identify monitoring, targeted material-aging studies and predictive simulation as ways to improve confidence in cable-aging assessments. The review describes a testing-based approach as promising for future cable-aging management in light-water reactors; it does not establish one universal aging rate or condition for every cable.
For aging assets, the practical lesson is to base decisions on the material, its exposure and its observed condition rather than assume a single service-life rule applies to every component.
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Where do supply risks fit into material reliability?
Infrastructure decisions can be affected by whether important materials are available as well as by their engineering properties. DOE’s 2023 assessment considered material criticality in the energy sector by looking at both importance to that sector and supply risk. This provides a framework for considering supply alongside pressure, load, exposure, maintenance and inspection—but it is not a complete inventory of all materials used across water, telecom, transport, chemical or power-transmission infrastructure.
What this overview covers—and what it does not
This is a U.S.-weighted overview, with pipelines and nuclear power plants as concrete examples. It is not a universal inventory of infrastructure materials or a substitute for asset-specific engineering and applicable requirements. Material suitability depends on the actual operating environment, design, installation, monitoring and maintenance plan; the cited historical pipeline figures and aging discussions should be interpreted within their stated categories and scope.
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