The hygroscopic materials are available and have other commercial uses. This method could be less expensive than strand filling, but does require water to be in the cable before blocking can take place. Therefore, splicers must cut out all the conductor with entrained water or gel, when repairing. Solid Conductors are stranded in order to add flexibly to the conductor. When aluminum is extruded instead of drawn, it is a soft temper.
Soft temper is easier to bend.
It is practical to make conductors up to at least 1000 kcmil. Southwire installed 1000 kcmil aluminum insulated to 35 kV on a 10 MW turbine generator at it's Copper Refinery in Carrollton, Georgia in 1989. Some standards do not recognize solid aluminum conductor this size. Users will want information from the manufacturer on what standards solid aluminum conductors will meet and to what tests it will pass. Solid aluminum conductors are standard in Europe.