Patent ID: 11946332
Assignee: HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES, INC.
Field: Materials, metallurgy (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC E  C | IPC C  E

Claim 9:
10. A method of using a swellable packer assembly, the method comprising:
running a swellable packer assembly into a wellbore on a conveyance so as to position the swellable packer assembly at a predetermined downhole location, wherein the sealing element of the swellable packer assembly is in an inactivated configuration;
selectively removing a degradable metal coating disposed about at least a portion of an outer surface of the sealing element, wherein the degradable metal coating comprises a doped magnesium alloy selected from the group consisting of:
a doped WE magnesium alloy comprising 86.6% to 90.6% magnesium, about 4% rare earth metal yttrium, about 4% rare earth metal that is not yttrium, 1% to about 5% dopant from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper, and any combination thereof, and selected about 0.4% supplemental material of zirconium, each by weight of the doped WE magnesium alloy;
a doped AZ magnesium alloy comprising about 88.5% magnesium, about 9% aluminum, about 0.7% zinc, 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper, and any combination thereof, about 0.2% supplemental material of manganese, and about 0.3% supplemental material of zinc, each by weight of the doped AZ magnesium alloy;
a doped AZ magnesium alloy comprising about 94.5% magnesium, about 3% aluminum, about I % zinc, I % to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and about 0.3% supplemental material of manganese, each by weight of the doped AZ magnesium alloy;
a doped ZK magnesium alloy comprising about 91.7% magnesium, about 5.9% zinc, about 0.2% zirconium, and about 2% dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, and any combination thereof, each by weight of the doped ZK magnesium alloy;
a doped ZK magnesium alloy comprising about 89.9% magnesium, about 3.2% zinc, about 0.6% zirconium, and about 6.3% dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, and any combination thereof, each by weight of the doped ZK magnesium alloy; and

a doped AM magnesium alloy comprising about 91.4% magnesium, about 6% aluminum, about 0.2% manganese, about 2% dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, and any combination thereof, about 0.2% supplemental material of silicon, and about 0.2% supplemental material of zinc, each by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy; and
causing the sealing element to be exposed to a wellbore fluid thereby activating the sealing element to induce swelling of the sealing element.