METALLIC RETARD INSULATING COATING FOR INFLATABLE PACKERS

Abstract

An inflatable packer assembly comprising a mandrel, a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel, and a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element. The degradable metallic coating fluidly isolates the portion of an external surface of the sealing element from the exterior of the coating, and the sealing element is formed of a material that responds to exposure to a wellbore fluid by expanding radially from the mandrel. The degradable metallic coating is selectively removed from the mandrel downhole to expose the sealing element to the wellbore fluid.

Description

METALLIC RETARD INSULATING COATING FOR INFLATABLE PACKERS FIELD OF INVENTION This disclosure relates to downhole tools used in underground wells. In particular, this disclosure relates to unreliable packers used in oil and gas operations. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Wells are drilled into the earth for various purposes, including accessing hydrocarbon formations to extract hydrocarbons for use as fuel or lubricants, for chemical production, and for other purposes. During well operations related to the exploration, drilling, and production of hydrocarbons from underground geological formations, it is often desirable to isolate two or more portions of a well, such as during a stimulation operation (e.g., drilling and / or hydraulic fracturing), during completion (e.g., cementing operations), and during hydrocarbon production from underground formations. Consequently, packers or similar isolation tools can be used to provide a fluid seal between portions of a well or between tubular components within a well.The packer can expand radially in contact with a wellbore wall or the inner surface of an external tubular structure to create a defined ring seal between the pipe string and the external tubular structure or wellbore wall. In some cases, packers can also be used to secure a casing string within a wellbore. During operation, mechanical or hydraulic systems can be used to expand the packer. In other systems, the packer can be induced to expand by exposing the inflatable element within the packer to a predetermined activation fluid in the well. Inflatable packers may include an elastomeric element selected to expand in response to exposure to a particular activation fluid. The activation fluid can be a fluid present in the well, for example, a hydrocarbon-based fluid, or a fluid pumped into the well from the surface. This type of passive actuation can make inflatable packers attractive for use in downhole applications where space may be very limited for mechanical or hydraulic systems. In some cases, an inflatable packer may begin to expand before reaching its intended location in the well. For example, an inflatable packer run into a well on a conveying medium, such as a pipe string, coiled pipe, wireline, or steel wire, may reach its intended depth after a period of approximately two days, and the inflatable packer may be exposed to the activation fluid during this time. r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi If unexpected delays occur in packer placement, the inflatable packer may come into contact with an external tubular structure or wellbore wall in an undesired location. Continued inflation of the packer may cause the packer and / or the conveying medium to become stuck in the wellbore. Consequently, methods and devices that can retard or otherwise control the inflation and / or inflation rate of inflatable packers are desirable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to describe how the advantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, reference is made to the embodiments of these, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is understood that these drawings show only illustrative embodiments of the disclosure and should therefore not be considered limiting in scope, the principles herein are described and explained with further specificity and detail by means of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a well operating in an environment where an inflatable packer can be deployed according to certain example embodiments of this disclosure; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of an inflatable packer assembly according to certain exemplary embodiments of this disclosure; Figure 3 is an symmetrical view of an inflatable packer assembly according to certain exemplary embodiments of this disclosure; and Figure 4 is a graph depicting the amount of inflation over time for a degradable metallic coating that can be used in an inflatable packer assembly, according to an example embodiment of this disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Various methods of implementing disclosure are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are analyzed, it should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only. A person of mid-level expertise will recognize that other components and configurations can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of disclosure. It should be understood from the outset that, although illustrative implementations of one or more embodiments are shown below, the disclosed compositions and methods may be implemented using any number of techniques. The disclosure shall in no way be limited to the implementations, drawings, and illustrative techniques shown herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims together with their full range of equivalents. In the following analysis and in the claims, the expressions "includes" and "comprising" are used non-exclusively and should therefore be construed to mean that they include, among others. References to "up" or "down" shall be made, for the purposes of the description, by "upper" or "above the well," meaning toward the well surface, and by "lower" or "bottom of the well," meaning toward the terminal end of the well, irrespective of the well's orientation. As used herein, the term “inflatable material” refers to any material that inflates (i.e., exhibits an increase in mass and volume) upon contact with a selected fluid. In some cases, an inflatable material may include a polymer, such as an elastomer. The selected fluid may be, for example, an inflation agent. It should be understood that the terms “polymer” and “polymeric material” are used interchangeably and refer to compositions comprising at least one polymerized monomer, with or without other additives traditionally included in such materials. As used herein, the term derivative refers to any compound made from one or more of the inflatable materials, for example, by replacing an atom in the inflatable material with another atom or group of atoms, rearranging two or more atoms in the inflatable material, ionizing one of the inflatable materials, or creating a salt of one of the inflatable materials. The term copolymer, as used herein, is not limited to the combination of two polymers but refers to any combination of any number of polymers, for example, graft polymers, terpolymers, and the like. The various features described in more detail below will be very evident to people of intermediate skill level with the help of this disclosure after reading the detailed description below and in reference to the attached drawings. This disclosure relates to inflatable packer assemblies for downhole positioning. According to one aspect of this disclosure, the inflatable packer assembly may include a mandrel and a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel. The sealing element may be made of a material that responds to exposure to a wellbore fluid by expanding radially from the mandrel. The inflatable packer assembly may further include a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element. The degradable metallic coating may fluidly isolate a portion of an external surface of the sealing element from the outside of the coating. The degradable metallic coating may be selectively removed from the mandrel downhole to expose the sealing element to the wellbore fluid. In some cases, the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the mandrel after applying a downhole voltage to the coating. In other cases, the degradable metallic coating is selectively removed from the mandrel after exposure to a downhole fluid. The degradable metallic coating can be configured to degrade upon contact with a downhole fluid to expose the sealing element to the fluid in the well. In some cases, the coating can be configured to degrade in a downhole environment after a predetermined amount of time to expose the sealing element to the fluid in the well. In some cases, the degradable metallic coating undergoes galvanic corrosion upon exposure to a well fluid. The degradable metallic coating may comprise a metal or a metallic alloy that can be dissolved upon exposure to a well fluid. In some cases, the degradable metallic coating may be a metallic alloy comprising at least one metal selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium. According to one aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating may comprise a doped magnesium alloy or a doped aluminum alloy. Pursuant to another aspect of this disclosure, a method for using an inflatable packer assembly is provided. The method may include placing an inflatable packer assembly in a wellbore using a transport device to position the assembly at a predetermined downhole location. The sealing element of the inflatable packer assembly is in an inactivated configuration when placed in the wellbore. The method may further include selectively removing a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element. The method may further include exposing the sealing element to a well fluid, thereby activating the sealing element to induce inflation. Selectively removing a degradable metallic coating can involve exposing the coating to a well fluid, or alternatively, exposing it to an activation fluid circulated from the surface or released by a downhole tool. In other cases, selectively removing a degradable metallic coating can involve applying a voltage to the coating. In some instances, the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed after a predetermined period of time. Pursuant to another aspect of this disclosure, an inflatable downhole packer system is provided. The system may include a conveying medium and a mandrel attached to the conveying medium. The system may further include a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel. The sealing element may be made of a material that responds to exposure to an activation fluid in a well by expanding radially from the mandrel. The system may also include a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element. The degradable metallic coating can fluidly isolate a portion of an external surface of the sealing element from the exterior of the coating. The degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the mandrel downhole to expose the sealing element to the activation fluid in the well.In at least some cases, the activation fluid can be an organic acid. In some cases, the activation fluid can be an organic acid selected from the group consisting of citric acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and any combination thereof. According to one aspect of this disclosure, the system may further include an activation fluid disposed within the well that is configured to cause the degradable metallic coating to degrade. Pursuant to one aspect of this disclosure, a method for manufacturing an inflatable packer assembly is provided. The method may include providing a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of a mandrel. The sealing element may include a material that responds to exposure to a wellbore fluid by expanding radially from the mandrel. The method may further include depositing a degradable metallic coating on at least a portion of an external surface of a sealing element. Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of one embodiment of a well operating environment in which an inflatable packer assembly may be deployed. As illustrated in Figure 1, the operating environment 100 includes a well 114 penetrating a subsurface formation 102 comprising a plurality of formation zones 2, 4, 6, and 8 for the purpose of hydrocarbon recovery, hydrocarbon storage, carbon dioxide removal, or the like. The well 114 may extend substantially vertically away from the earth's surface over a vertical wellbore portion, or it may be deviated at any angle from the earth's surface 104 over a deviated or horizontal wellbore portion 118. In alternative operating environments, portions or substantially all of the well 114 may be vertical, deviated, horizontal, and / or curved. The well 114 may be drilled into the subsurface formation 102 by any suitable drilling technique.In one embodiment, a drilling or maintenance rig 106 disposed on the surface 104 comprises a drilling derrick 108 with a drill floor 110 through which a tubing string (for example, a drill string, a tool string, a segmented tubing string, a bonded tubing string, or any other suitable conveying means, or combinations thereof) that generally defines an axial flow mouth can be positioned into or partially into the well 114. In one embodiment, the tubing strings may include two or more concentrically placed tubing strings (for example, a first working string may be placed inside a second working string). The drilling or maintenance rig 106 may be conventional and may include a motorized winch and other associated equipment for lowering the tubing string into the well 114.Alternatively, a mobile workover rig, well maintenance unit (e.g., coiled tubing units), or similar equipment may be used to lower the work string into well 114. In such an environment, the tubular string may be used for drilling, stimulation, completion, or otherwise well maintenance, or combinations thereof. r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi While Figure 1 depicts a stationary drilling rig, a person of average skill will readily appreciate that mobile workover rigs and well maintenance units (such as coiled tubing units) and the like can be used. It should be noted that while the Figures or portions thereof may exemplify horizontal or vertical wells, the principles of apparatus, methods, and systems disclosed herein are equally applicable to horizontal well configurations, conventional vertical well configurations, deviated well configurations, and any combination thereof. Therefore, the horizontal, deviated, or vertical nature of any figure should not be interpreted as limiting the well to any particular configuration. As illustrated in Figure 1, at least a portion of well 114 is lined with wellbore tubular 120, such as a casing string and / or short casing pipe, defining an axial flow mouth 121. In at least some cases, one or more inflatable packer assemblies 200, such as a first inflatable packer assembly 200a, a second inflatable packer assembly 200b, a third inflatable packer assembly 200c, and a fourth inflatable packer assembly 200d, may be disposed within well 114. In some cases, the one or more inflatable packer assemblies 200 may be used to isolate two or more adjacent portions or zones within the underground formation 102 and / or well 114. In some cases, the inflatable packer assemblies 120 may be operated to couple and / or seal an external tubular string, such as the tubular string 120.According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, at least a portion of the wellbore tubular 120 is secured in a position against the formation 102 through a plurality of inflatable packer assemblies 200, such as assemblies 200a-200d. In at least some cases, a portion of the wellbore tubular 120 may be partially secured in a position against the formation 102 in a conventional manner with cement. As illustrated in Figure 1, the operating environment 100 may also include at least one downhole tool 300 (for example, a first downhole tool 300a, a second downhole tool 300b, a third downhole tool 300c, and a fourth downhole tool 300d). In some cases, one or more downhole tools 300 may include an actuated stimulation assembly, which may be configured to perform a well maintenance operation, such as a stimulation operation. Various stimulation operations may include, but are not limited to, a drilling operation, a fracturing operation, an acidizing operation, or any combination thereof. Figure 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an inflatable packer assembly according to certain exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. As illustrated in Figure 2, an inflatable packer assembly 200 is presented according to one aspect of this disclosure. The inflatable packer assembly 200 may include a mandrel 210, a sealing element 220 circumferentially disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel 210, and a cover 230 covering at least a portion of the sealing element 230. As illustrated in Figure 2, the inflatable packer assembly 200 may be characterized with respect to a central or longitudinal axis 205. The sealing element 220 can generally be configured to seal and / or isolate two or more portions of an annular space surrounding the inflatable packer assembly 200 (for example, between the inflatable packer assembly 200 and one or more walls of the well 114 or tubular well 120), for example, by providing a barrier that extends circumferentially around at least a portion of the outside of the inflatable packer assembly 200. In some cases, the sealing element 220 can comprise a hollow cylindrical structure having an internal bore (for example, a tube-shaped and / or ring-shaped structure). In at least some cases, the sealing element 220 can be in sealing contact (for example, a fluid-tight seal) with the mandrel 210.The sealing element 220 may comprise a suitable inner diameter, a suitable outer diameter, and / or a suitable thickness, as, for example, a person of average skill may select by reviewing this disclosure and taking into consideration factors including, but not limited to, the size / diameter of mandrel 210, the wall against which the sealing element is configured to mate, the force with which the sealing element is configured to mate with such surfaces, or other related factors. For example, the inner diameter of the sealing element 220 may be approximately the same as the outer diameter of mandrel 210. While Figure 2 illustrates an inflatable packer assembly comprising a single sealing element 220, a person of average skill, after reviewing this disclosure, will appreciate that a similar inflatable packer assembly may comprise two, three, four, five, or any other suitable number of sealing elements such as sealing element 220. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, sealing element 220 comprises an inflatable material. Examples of polymeric materials suitable for use as part of the inflatable material include, but are not limited to, homopolymers, random, block, graft, star-branched, and hyper-branched polyesters, copolymers thereof, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the inflatable material may be characterized as a resilient, volume-changing material.In some cases, the sealing element 220 may be configured to exhibit radial expansion (e.g., an increase in external diameter) upon contact with an inflation agent. The inflation agent may be a water-based fluid (e.g., aqueous solutions, water, etc.), a petroleum-based fluid (e.g., hydrocarbon fluid, petroleum fluid, oily fluid, terpene fluid, diesel, gasoline, xylene, octane, hexane, etc.), or combinations thereof. In some cases, the inflation material may comprise a water-inflatable material, an oil-inflatable material, a water- and oil-inflatable material, or combinations thereof. As illustrated in Figure 2, the coating 230 covers at least a portion of an external surface 221 of the sealing element 220. The coating 230 can fluidly isolate at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element 220 from an external fluid to an external surface 235 of the coating. Therefore, the coating 230 can be used to retard the onset of inflation of the sealing element 220 by blocking fluids from coming into contact with the sealing element 220 and causing it to inflate, resulting in the expansion of the inflatable packer assembly 200 to engage the wellbore or tubular walls. The coating 230 can be a degradable metallic coating that retards the onset of inflation of the sealing element 220 for a predetermined amount of time.Upon exposure to well fluid or an activation fluid that may be injected downhole, the degradable metallic coating 230 degrades and eventually dissolves. After the degradable metal degrades or dissolves, the fluids cause the sealing element 220 to inflate, causing the inflatable packer assembly 200 to expand and conform to the wellbore walls or wellbore tube, such as the wellbore walls 114 or wellbore tube 120 illustrated in Figure 1. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, degradable metallic coating 230 can be degraded or dissolved by galvanic corrosion upon exposure to well fluids or an activation fluid. In other cases, degradable metallic coating 230 can be degraded or dissolved upon application of a voltage to the degradable metallic coating 230. In such cases, the application of a voltage to the degradable metallic coating 230 accelerates electrochemical corrosion and degradation of the degradable metallic coating 230. In some cases, the voltage can be generated by the use of a turbine or generator. In some cases, the voltage can be carried downhole through an electrical conductor. The degradable metallic coating 230 can be arranged around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element 220. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 can be deposited directly onto at least a portion of an external surface 221 of the sealing element 220 by spray deposition, electron beam deposition, or other deposition methods. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 is chemically bonded to at least a portion of an external surface 221 of the sealing element 220. In other cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 is physically adhered to at least a portion of an external surface 221 of the sealing element 220, for example, by an adhesive or electrostatic forces.In some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 may comprise the form of a wrap that is wrapped around at least a portion of the external surface 221 of the sealing element 220. In such cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 may comprise a plurality of layers surrounding at least a portion of the external surface 221 of the sealing element 220. The wrap may be secured by an adhesive, by electrostatic forces, or simply wrapped around at least a portion of the external surface 221 of the sealing element 220 by pressure in the absence of an adhesive or other forces adhering the wrap to the external surface 221 of the sealing element 220. In at least some cases, the wrap may be secured to at least an external surface 221 of the sealing element 220 by a packing method, which includes, for example, a heat packing method.In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 may comprise a metallic tape. In such cases, a plurality of layers of metallic tape may be applied to at least a portion of the external surface 221 of the sealing element 220. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating 230 is integral to the inflatable packer assembly 200 by being deposited directly onto at least one external surface 221 of the sealing element 220. In some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 is deposited directly onto at least one external surface 221 of the sealing element 220 by bonding or chemical or electrostatic interactions. In other cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 is deposited directly onto at least one external surface 221 of the sealing element 220 by physical adhesion or pressure packing. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230, once deposited, is integral to the inflatable packer assembly 200 so that it cannot be readily removed except by degradation.In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230, once deposited, is integral to the inflatable baler assembly 200 so that it cannot be easily replaced. Figure 3 illustrates an symmetrical view of the inflatable packer assembly 200 according to certain exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. As illustrated in Figure 3, the sealing element 220 is disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel 210, while the degradable metallic coating 230 is disposed around at least a portion of an outer surface of the sealing element 220. The coating 230 can fluidly isolate at least a portion of an outer surface of the sealing element 220 from an external fluid to an outer surface 235 of the coating, thereby delaying the onset of inflation of the sealing element 220 by blocking fluids from coming into contact with the sealing element 220 that would otherwise cause the sealing element 220 to inflate and the inflatable packer assembly 200 to expand and engage with the well or tubular walls. r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAiIn at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 comprises a thin-film metallic material. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating may exhibit a thickness of approximately 20 thousandths of an inch to approximately one-quarter of an inch. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 may comprise a mesh or sieve structure. In such cases, the mesh or sieve structure of the degradable metallic coating 230 may provide additional surface area or reaction sites for chemical or galvanic corrosion of the degradable metallic coating 230. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 may be porous. In such cases, the porosity of the degradable metallic coating 230 may provide additional surface area or reaction sites for chemical or galvanic corrosion of the degradable metallic coating 230.In at least some cases, the porosity of the degradable metallic coating 230 may vary along the length of the degradable metallic coating 230. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating 230 comprises sufficient tensile strength to contain the sealing element 220. In some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 comprises sufficient tensile strength to physically compress the sealing element 220 to prevent it from expanding even if fluid leaks occur that cause the sealing element 220 to begin expanding. In such cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 comprises sufficient tensile strength to contain the sealing element 220 during preliminary inflation due to initial contact with well fluid. In at least some cases, the coating 230 has a tensile strength of approximately 5,000 psi to approximately 35,000 psi.In some cases, the 230 coating has a tensile strength of around 10,000 psi to around 35,000 psi, or around 15,000 psi to around 35,000 psi, or around 20,000 psi to around 35,000 psi, or around 25,000 psi to around 35,000 psi, or around 30,000 psi to around 35,000 psi, or around 5,000 psi to around 25,000 psi, or around 10,000 psi to around 25,000 psi, or around 15,000 psi to around 25,000 psi. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating 230 prevents all inflation of the sealing element 220 and unreliable packer assembly 200 for an initial predetermined amount of time. After the initial predetermined time period, the degradable metallic coating 230 degrades, and inflation of the sealing element 220 accelerates. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 substantially prevents fluid transfer to the sealing element 220 for a predetermined period of time. After the predetermined period of time, an increasing amount of fluid transfer to the sealing element 220 occurs as the degradable metallic coating 230 degrades.In another aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating 230 protects the inflatable packer assembly 200, which includes the sealing element 220, while the inflatable packer assembly 200 is in place at the bottom of the well and for a predetermined amount of time after the inflatable packer assembly 200 is installed in the well or well tubing. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 provides a watertight seal with respect to the sealing element 220 until the degradable metallic coating 230 substantially degrades.In some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 provides a barrier between at least a portion of the sealing element 220 and the well fluids, so that there is no substantial contact between the sealing element 220, or an external surface 221 thereof, and a well fluid until the degradable metallic coating 230 has degraded. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, degradable metallic coating 230 can be selectively removed after a predetermined period of time by exposure to wellbore fluids or exposure to an activation fluid that can be pumped downhole. Therefore, degradable metallic coating 230 can be selectively removed after a predetermined period of time by passively allowing ambient wellbore fluids to interact with the degradable metallic coating 230, causing it to degrade. Alternatively, degradable metallic coating 230 can be selectively removed after a predetermined amount of time by actively changing the downhole fluid to which degradable metallic coating 230 is exposed.For example, in some cases, a petroleum-based mud can be replaced with a brine to activate the degradation of degradable metallic coating 230. In other cases, a low-pH fluid can be injected or pumped downhole to activate the degradation of degradable metallic coating 230 or to increase the rate of degradation of degradable metallic coating 230. Alternatively, an activation fluid comprising citric acid can be injected or pumped downhole to accelerate or initiate the degradation of degradable metallic coating 230.In such cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 may be characterized by providing an indefinite delay in degradation, whereas exposure to citric acid activation fluid may cause the degradable metallic coating 230 to produce a one-hour delay in degradation, sufficient for the sealing element to expand as a result of exposure to well fluids. In some cases, the activation fluid is circulated downhole from the surface. In other cases, the activation fluid is released downhole. Figure 4 illustrates a graph showing the amount of inflation over time for a degradable metallic coating that can be used in an inflatable packer assembly, according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. As illustrated in Figure 4, the degradable metallic coating 230 can be characterized by a delay period 410, corresponding to a predetermined time period, before the degradable metallic coating 230 degrades sufficiently to cause the sealing element 220 to be exposed to the well fluid and inflate, resulting in the expansion of the inflatable packer assembly 200 to engage the wall of a well or tubular.The characteristic 410 delay period, for example, the predetermined time period, can be determined by selecting the composition of the degradable metallic coating or by activating the degradation of the degradable metallic coating by exposing the degradable metallic coating to an activation fluid. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, Coating 230 does not require a retaining element. In at least some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 may be crimped, strung, or coated with wax, glue, or other sealant to minimize water ingress along the edges. The coatings 230 disclosed herein are especially suitable for elevated temperatures and higher salinity fluids. With reference to Figure 2, the mandrel 210, at least in some cases, may define a continuous axial flow port 211 that permits fluid movement through the mandrel 210. In at least some cases, the mandrel 210 may comprise a cylindrical or tubular structure or body. The mandrel 210 may be aligned coaxially with the central axis 205 of the inflatable packer assembly 200. In some cases, the mandrel 210 may comprise a unitary structure (e.g., a single manufacturing unit, such as a continuous length of tube or pipe). Alternatively, the mandrel 210 may comprise two or more operatively connected components (e.g., two or more coupled subcomponents, such as by a threaded connection). In other cases, the mandrel 210 may comprise any suitable structure appreciated by those of a mid-level trade.The tubular body of the mandrel 210 generally defines a continuous axial flow mouth 211 that allows fluid movement through the mandrel 210. In some cases, the 210 mandrel may be configured for insertion into the 120 wellbore tubular. In other cases, the 210 mandrel may be configured for insertion into any suitable tubular string, such as, for example, a work string, tool string, segmented pipe string, bonded pipe string, coiled pipe string, production pipe string, drill string, or similar or combinations thereof. In such cases, the 210 mandrel may include a suitable connection to the 120 wellbore tubular (for example, to a casing string member, such as a casing joint). Suitable connections for a casing string will be known to persons of intermediate skill.In this embodiment, the mandrel 210 is incorporated within the well tube 120 so that the axial flow port 211 of the mandrel 210 is in fluid communication with the axial flow port 121 of the well tube 120. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the assembly of the inflatable packer 200 may include one or more optional retaining elements 240. The optional retaining element 240 may be arranged circumferentially around the adjacent mandrel 210 and supported by the sealing element 220 on each side of the sealing element 220, as illustrated in Figure 2. Alternatively, the optional retaining element 240 may be adjacent to and supported by the sealing element 220 on only one side, such as, for example, on a lower side of the sealing element 220 or on an upper side of the sealing element 220. The optional retaining element 240 may be attached to the mandrel by any suitable retaining mechanism, such as, for example, screws, pins, safety pins, retaining bands, and the like, or combinations thereof. The optional retaining element 240 can prevent or limit longitudinal movement (e.g., along the centerline 205) of the sealing element 220 around the mandrel 210, while the sealing element 220, arranged circumferentially around the mandrel 210, is positioned within the wellbore and / or underground formation. In some cases, the optional retaining element 240 can prevent or limit longitudinal expansion (e.g., along the centerline 205) of the sealing element 220, while permitting radial expansion of the sealing element 220. In at least some cases, the inflatable baler assembly 200 may further comprise a protective coating disposed over the degradable metallic coating 230 in order to protect the degradable metallic coating 230 from corrosion during storage and transport and / or reduce exposure to moisture. The protective coating may be, for example, a lubricant, silicone grease, or a polymer protectant. The degradable metallic coating 230 can be an alloy of magnesium, aluminum, or calcium. In some cases, the degradable metallic coating 230 can be a metallic alloy comprising magnesium, aluminum, calcium, and any combination thereof. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating 230 may comprise a doped magnesium alloy. The doped magnesium alloy may be one of a doped MG magnesium alloy, a doped WE magnesium alloy, a doped AZ magnesium alloy, a doped AM magnesium alloy, or a doped ZK magnesium alloy.As defined herein, a “doped MG magnesium alloy” is an alloy comprising at least magnesium, dopant, and optional complementary material, as defined herein; a “doped WE magnesium alloy” is an alloy comprising at least one rare-earth metal, magnesium, dopant, and optional complementary material, as defined herein; a “doped AZ magnesium alloy” is an alloy comprising at least aluminum, zinc, magnesium, dopant, and optional complementary material, as defined herein; a “doped AM magnesium alloy” is an alloy comprising at least aluminum, manganese, magnesium, dopant, and optional complementary material, as defined herein; and a “ZK magnesium alloy” is an alloy comprising at least zinc, zirconium, magnesium, dopant, and optional complementary material, as defined herein.Accordingly, any or all of the doped MG magnesium alloy, doped WE magnesium alloy, doped AZ magnesium alloy, doped AM magnesium alloy, or doped ZK magnesium alloy may comprise a complementary material, or may not have a complementary material, without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The doped magnesium alloys described herein exhibit a higher degradation rate compared to undoped magnesium alloys due to their specific composition, the presence of the dopant, the presence of intergranular inclusions, or both. For example, the zinc concentration in a ZK magnesium alloy can vary from grain to grain within the alloy, resulting in intergranular variation in galvanic potential. As another example, the dopant in a doped AZ magnesium alloy can lead to the formation of intergranular inclusions, which have a slightly different galvanic potential than the grains in the alloy. The doped magnesium alloys described herein may further comprise a quantity of material, referred to as “complementary material,” which is defined as none of the primary chemical elements of the magnesium alloy or the dopant. This complementary material may include, but is not limited to, unknown materials, impurities, additives (e.g., those intentionally included to aid in mechanical properties), and any combination thereof. The complementary material minimally, if at all, affects the corrosion rate acceleration of the doped magnesium alloy. Accordingly, the complementary material may, for example, inhibit the corrosion rate or have no effect on it. As defined herein, the term “minimally,” with reference to the effect on the rate acceleration, means an effect of no more than about 5% compared with the absence of complementary material.This complementary material, discussed in more detail below, may be present in the doped magnesium alloys of the present invention due to natural remnants of raw materials, oxidation of magnesium or other elements, manufacturing processes (e.g., casting, alloying, and the like), or similar factors. Alternatively, the complementary material may consist of additives intentionally placed in the doped magnesium alloy to impart a beneficial quality to the alloy, as discussed below. In general, the complementary material is present in the doped magnesium alloys described herein in an amount of less than approximately 10% by weight of the doped magnesium alloy that does not include any complementary material (i.e., 0%). The magnesium concentrations in each of the doped magnesium alloys described herein may vary depending on the desired properties of the alloy. r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi Furthermore, the type of magnesium alloy doped (e.g., MG, WE, AZ, ZK, and AM) influences the desired amount of magnesium. In addition, the amount of magnesium, as well as other metals, dopants, and / or other materials, can affect tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, thermal properties, manufacturing characteristics, corrosion properties, and similar properties. The doped magnesium MG alloys of this disclosure comprise magnesium in an amount ranging from about 85% to about 99.95% by weight of the doped magnesium MG alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. In addition, the doped magnesium MG alloy comprises a dopant in an amount ranging from about 0.05% to about 15% by weight of the doped magnesium MG alloy. Finally, the doped magnesium MG alloys of this disclosure may comprise complementary material, as defined above and discussed below, in an amount ranging from about 0% to about 10% by weight of the doped magnesium MG alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. That is, in some cases, the doped magnesium MG alloy does not comprise complementary material. A specific example of a doped magnesium MG alloy for use in forming at least one component of a downhole tool, according to the embodiments described herein, comprises 85% to 99.95% by weight of magnesium in the doped magnesium MG alloy, 0.05% to 15% by weight of dopant in the doped magnesium MG alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material in the doped magnesium MG alloy. In another example, the doped magnesium MG alloy comprises 85% to 99.95% by weight of magnesium in the doped magnesium MG alloy, 0.05% to 5% by weight of dopant in the doped magnesium MG alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material in the doped magnesium MG alloy. In preferred embodiments, the dopant is iron, nickel, copper, or any combination thereof. The doping agents are analyzed in more detail below. The WE-doped magnesium alloys of this disclosure may comprise magnesium in an amount ranging from about 40% to about 98.95% by weight of the WE-doped magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The WE-doped magnesium alloy may further comprise a rare-earth metal in an amount ranging from about 1% to about 15% by weight of the WE-doped magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The rare-earth metal may be selected from the group consisting of scandium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, trium, and any combination thereof. In preferred embodiments, the rare-earth metal comprises trium. Furthermore, the doped WE magnesium alloy may comprise a dopant in the amount in the range of around 0.0.5% to around 15% by weight of the doped WE magnesium alloy. r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi Finally, the WE-doped magnesium alloys of this disclosure may comprise filler material, as defined above and discussed below, in an amount ranging from about 0% to about 10% by weight of the WE-doped magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. That is, in some cases, the WE-doped magnesium alloy does not comprise filler material. A specific example of a doped WE magnesium alloy for use in forming at least one component of a downhole tool according to the embodiments described herein comprises 40% to 98.95 wt% magnesium of the doped WE magnesium alloy, 1% to 15 wt% of a rare earth metal of the doped WE magnesium alloy, 0.05% to 15 wt% dopant of the doped WE magnesium alloy, and 0% to 10 wt% complementary material of the doped WE magnesium alloy. As another specific example, the WE doped magnesium alloy of the present disclosure comprises 40% to 98.95 wt% magnesium of the WE doped magnesium alloy, 1% to 15 wt% of a rare earth metal of the WE doped magnesium alloy, 0.5% to 5 wt% dopant of the WE doped magnesium alloy, and 0% to 10 wt% of complementary material of the WE doped magnesium alloy. As yet another specific example, the WE doped magnesium alloy for use in forming at least one component of a downhole tool according to the embodiments described herein comprises 88% to 95% by weight of magnesium in the doped WE magnesium alloy, 3% to 5% by weight of triium in the doped WE magnesium alloy, 2% to 5% by weight of a rare earth metal other than triium in the doped WE magnesium alloy, and 0.05% to 5% by weight of dopant in the doped WE magnesium alloy. As another specific example, the WE doped magnesium alloy for use in forming at least one component of a downhole tool according to the embodiments described herein comprises 86.6% to 90.6% by weight of magnesium from the doped WE magnesium alloy, about 4% by weight of yttrium from the doped WE magnesium alloy, about 4% by weight of a rare earth metal other than yttrium from the doped WE magnesium alloy, from 1% to 5% by weight of dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof from the doped WE magnesium alloy and about 0.4% by weight of zirconium complementary material from the doped WE magnesium alloy. The doped magnesium AZ alloys of this disclosure may comprise magnesium in an amount ranging from about 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of the magnesium AZ alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The doped magnesium AZ alloy may further comprise aluminum in an amount ranging from about 1% to about 12.7% by weight of the magnesium AZ alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The doped magnesium AZ alloy may further comprise zinc in an amount ranging from about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of the magnesium AZ alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. Furthermore, the doped AZ magnesium alloy may comprise a dopant in the amount in the range of about 0.05% to about 15% by weight of the doped WE magnesium alloy.Finally, the doped AZ magnesium alloys of this disclosure may comprise supplementary material, as defined above and discussed below, in an amount ranging from about 0% to about 10% by weight of the doped AZ magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. That is, in some cases, the doped AZ magnesium alloy does not comprise any supplementary material. A specific example of a doped magnesium AZ alloy for use forming at least one component of a downhole tool according to the embodiments described herein comprises 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of magnesium of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 1% to 12.7% by weight of aluminum of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.1% to 5% by weight of zinc of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.05% to 15% by weight of dopant of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material of the doped magnesium AZ alloy. As another specific example, the doped magnesium AZ alloy of the present disclosure comprises 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of magnesium of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 1% to 12.7% by weight of aluminum of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.1% to 5% by weight of zinc of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant of the doped magnesium alloy AZ and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material of the doped magnesium alloy AZ. In other embodiments, the doped magnesium alloy AZ comprises from 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of magnesium of the doped magnesium alloy AZ, from 3% to 10% by weight of aluminum of the doped magnesium alloy AZ, from 0.1% to 5% by weight of zinc of the doped magnesium alloy AZ, from 0.05% to 15% by weight of dopant of the doped magnesium alloy AZ, and from 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material of the doped magnesium alloy AZ. In some embodiments, the doped magnesium AZ alloy comprises 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of magnesium of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 3% to 10% by weight of aluminum of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.1% to 5% by weight of zinc of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material of the doped magnesium AZ alloy. Other specific examples of doped AZ magnesium alloy for use as a component of the downhole tools described herein comprise 57.3% to 98.85 wt% magnesium of doped AZ magnesium alloy, 1% to 12.7 wt% aluminum of doped AZ magnesium alloy, 0.1% to 3 wt% zinc of doped AZ magnesium alloy, 0.05% to 15 wt% dopant of doped AZ magnesium alloy, and 0% to 10 wt% complementary material of doped AZ magnesium alloy. In some cases, the doped AZ magnesium alloy comprises 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of magnesium, 1% to 12.7% by weight of aluminum, 0.1% to 3% by weight of zinc, 0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material.Another specific example of doped magnesium AZ alloy comprises 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of magnesium in doped magnesium AZ alloy, 3% to 10% by weight of aluminum in doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.1% to 3% by weight of zinc in doped magnesium AZ alloy, 0.05% to 15% by weight of dopant in doped magnesium AZ alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material in doped magnesium AZ alloy. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the doped magnesium AZ alloy comprises from 57.3% to 98.85% by weight of magnesium of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, from 3% to 10% by weight of aluminum of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, from 0.1% to 3% by weight of zinc of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, from 0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant of the doped magnesium AZ alloy, and from 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material of the doped magnesium AZ alloy.In other embodiments, the doped magnesium alloy AZ comprises 87% to 97% by weight of magnesium of the doped magnesium alloy AZ, 3% to 10% by weight of aluminum of the doped magnesium alloy AZ, 0.3% to 3% by weight of zinc of the doped magnesium alloy AZ, and 0.05% to 5% by weight of dopant of the doped magnesium alloy AZ. In another embodiment, the doped magnesium alloy AZ comprises approximately 88.5 wt% magnesium, approximately 9 wt% aluminum, approximately 0.7 wt% zinc, approximately 1 to approximately 5 wt% of a dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper, and any combination thereof, approximately 0.2 wt% manganese filler material, and approximately 0.3 wt% silicon filler material. In yet another embodiment, the doped magnesium alloy AZ comprises approximately 94.5% by weight of magnesium from doped magnesium alloy AZ, about 3% by weight of aluminum from doped magnesium alloy AZ, about 1% by weight of zinc from doped magnesium alloy AZ, from about 1% to about 5% by weight of dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof from doped magnesium alloy AZ and about 0.3% by weight of manganese supplementary material from doped magnesium alloy AZ. The doped ZK magnesium alloys of this disclosure may comprise magnesium in an amount ranging from about 58% to about 98.95% by weight of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The doped ZK magnesium alloy may further comprise zinc in an amount ranging from about 1% to about 12% by weight of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The doped ZK magnesium alloy may further comprise zirconium in an amount ranging from about 0.01% to about 5% by weight of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. Furthermore, the doped ZK magnesium alloy may comprise a dopant in the amount in the range of about 0.05% to about 15% by weight of the doped ZK magnesium alloy.Finally, the doped ZK magnesium alloys of this disclosure may comprise filler material, as defined above and discussed below, in an amount ranging from about 0% to about 10% by weight of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. That is, in some cases, the doped ZK magnesium alloy does not comprise any filler material. A specific example of a doped ZK magnesium alloy for use forming at least one component of a downhole tool according to the embodiments described herein comprises 58% to 98.95 wt% magnesium of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, 1% to 12 wt% zinc of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, 0.01% to 5 wt% zirconium of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, 0.05% to 15 wt% dopant of the doped ZK magnesium alloy, and 0% to 10 wt% complementary material of the doped ZK magnesium alloy. As another specific example, the WE doped magnesium alloys of this disclosure comprise 58% to 98.95 wt% magnesium of doped ZK magnesium alloy, 1% to 12 wt% zinc of doped ZK magnesium alloy, 0.01% to 5 wt% zirconium of doped ZK magnesium alloy, 0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant of the doped ZK magnesium alloy and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material of the doped ZK magnesium alloy. In other embodiments, the doped magnesium ZK alloy comprises 58% to 98.95% by weight of magnesium from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 3% to 8% by weight of zinc from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 0.01% to 5% by weight of zirconium from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 0.05% to 15% by weight of dopant from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material from the doped magnesium ZK alloy. In some embodiments, the doped magnesium ZK alloy comprises 58% to 98.95% by weight of magnesium from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 3% to 8% by weight of zinc from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 0.01% to 5% by weight of zirconium from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material from the doped magnesium ZK alloy.In other embodiments r / ocnn / zznz / B / YiAi, the doped magnesium ZK alloy comprises 88% to 96% by weight of magnesium of the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 2% to 7% by weight of zinc of the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 0.45% to 3% by weight of zirconium of the doped magnesium ZK alloy, and 0.05% to 5% by weight of dopant of the doped magnesium ZK alloy. In another embodiment, the doped magnesium ZK alloy comprises about 91.9 wt% magnesium from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, about 5.9 wt% zinc from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, about 0.2 wt% zirconium from the doped magnesium ZK alloy, and about 2 wt% dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, and any combination thereof from the doped magnesium ZK alloy. In another specific embodiment, the doped magnesium ZK alloy for use in the embodiments of this disclosure comprises 89.9 wt% magnesium of the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 3.2 wt% zinc of the doped magnesium ZK alloy, 0.6 wt% zirconium of the doped magnesium ZK alloy, and 6.3 wt% dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, and any combination thereof of the doped magnesium ZK alloy. The doped AM magnesium alloys of this disclosure may comprise magnesium in an amount ranging from about 61% to about 97.85% by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The doped AM magnesium alloy may further comprise aluminum in an amount ranging from about 2% to about 10% by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. The doped AM magnesium alloy may further comprise manganese in an amount ranging from about 0.1% to about 4% by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. In addition, the doped AM magnesium alloy may comprise a dopant in an amount ranging from about 0.05% to about 15% by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy.Finally, the doped AM magnesium alloys of this disclosure may comprise filler material, as defined above and discussed below, in an amount ranging from about 0% to about 10% by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. That is, in some cases, the doped AM magnesium alloy does not comprise any filler material. In some embodiments, the doped AM magnesium alloy comprises from 61% to 97.85 wt% of magnesium of the doped AM magnesium alloy, from 2% to 10 wt% of aluminum of the doped magnesium alloy, from 0.1% to 4 wt% of manganese of the doped AM magnesium alloy, from 0.05% to 15 wt% of dopant of the doped AM magnesium alloy, and from 0% to 10 wt% of complementary material of the doped AM magnesium alloy. In some embodiments, a specific example of a doped AM magnesium alloy r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi for use in the embodiments of this disclosure comprises 61% to 97.85 wt% magnesium of the doped AM magnesium alloy, 2% to 10 wt% aluminum of the doped magnesium alloy, 0.1% to 4 wt% manganese of the doped AM magnesium alloy, 0.0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant in the doped AM magnesium alloy and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material in the doped AM magnesium alloy. In other embodiments, the doped AM magnesium alloy comprises 87% to 97.85% by weight of magnesium in the doped AM magnesium alloy, 2% to 10% by weight of aluminum in the doped magnesium alloy, 0.1% to 4% by weight of manganese in the doped AM magnesium alloy, 0.5% to 5% by weight of dopant in the doped AM magnesium alloy, and 0% to 10% by weight of complementary material in the doped AM magnesium alloy. In another specific embodiment, the doped AM magnesium alloy for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure comprises about 91.4 wt% magnesium of the doped AM magnesium alloy, about 6 wt% aluminum of the doped AM magnesium alloy, about 0.2 wt% manganese of the doped AM magnesium alloy, about 2 wt% dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron and any combination thereof of the doped AM magnesium alloy, about 0.2 wt% silicon complement material of the doped AM magnesium alloy and about 0.2 wt% zinc complement material of the doped AM magnesium alloy. The various additive materials that may be included in the doped magnesium alloys described herein may be natural reaction products or remnants of raw materials. Examples of such natural additive materials may include, but are not limited to, oxides (e.g., magnesium oxide), nitrides (e.g., magnesium nitride), sodium, potassium, hydrogen, and the like, and any combination thereof. In other embodiments, additive materials may be intentionally included in the doped magnesium alloys described herein to impart a desired quality.For example, in some embodiments, the intentionally included complementary materials may include, but are not limited to, a reinforcing agent, a corrosion retarder, a corrosion accelerator, a strengthening agent (i.e., for increasing strength or stiffness, including, but not limited to, a fiber, particulate, fiber fabric, and the like, and combinations thereof), silicon, calcium, lithium, manganese, tin, lead, thorium, zirconium, beryllium, cene, praseodymium, yttrium, and the like, and any combination thereof. Although some of these complementary materials overlap with the primary elements of a particular doped magnesium alloy, they are not considered complementary materials unless they are not primary elements of the doped magnesium alloy in which they are included.These intentionally placed complementary materials r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi can, among other things, provide an improvement in the mechanical properties of the doped magnesium alloy in which they are included. Each value of the primary elements of the doped magnesium alloys, the dopant, and the supplementary material described above is crucial for use in the embodiments of this disclosure and may depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the type of downhole tool and components formed from the doped magnesium alloy, the type and amount of dopant selected, the inclusion and type of supplementary material, the amount of supplementary material, the desired degradation rate, the underground formation conditions in which the downhole tool is used, and the like. In some embodiments, the degradation rate of the doped magnesium alloys described herein may be in the range of about 1% to about 100% of their total mass for about 24 hours in a 3% electrolyte solution (e.g., potassium chloride in an aqueous fluid) at about 93°C (200°F). In other embodiments, the dissolution rate of the doped magnesium alloy may be in the range of about 1 milligram per square centimeter (mg / cm²) to about 2000 mg / cm² for about one hour in a 15% electrolyte solution (e.g., a halide salt, such as potassium chloride or sodium chloride in an aqueous fluid) at about 93°C (200°F), encompassing any value and subset between these values. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating 230 may comprise a doped aluminum alloy. The aluminum in the doped aluminum alloy is present at a concentration in the range of about 50% to about 99% by weight of the doped aluminum alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these. For example, suitable aluminum alloys may have aluminum concentrations of about 45% to about 50%, about 50% to about 60%, about 60% to about 70%, about 70% to about 80%, about 80% to about 90%, or about 90% to about 99% by weight of the doped aluminum alloy, encompassing any value and subset between these.Each of these values ​​is crucial to the ways in which this disclosure is made and may depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the type of aluminum alloy, the desired degradability of the aluminum alloy, and the like. Suitable dopants for use in the formation of the doped aluminum alloys described herein may include, but are not limited to, copper, nickel, mercury, tin, chromium, cobalt, calcium, carbon, lithium, manganese, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, silicon, silver, gold, palladium, gallium, indium, tin, zinc, and any combination thereof. In some embodiments, preferred dopants include copper, iron, nickel, tin, cobalt, chromium, silver, gold, silicon, calcium, and carbon, or any combination thereof. The dopant may be included with the doped aluminum alloys described herein in an amount of about 0.05% to about 25% by weight of the doped aluminum alloy, encompassing all values ​​and subsets in between. For example, the dopant may be present in an amount of about 0.0.5% to about 3%, from about 3% to about 6%, from about 6% to about 9%, from about 9% to about 12%, from about 12% to about 15%, from about 15% to about 18%, from about 18% to about 21%, from about 21% to about 25%, from about 0.5% to about 15%, from about 0.5% to about 25%, or from about 0.5% to about 10% by weight of the doped aluminum alloy, encompassing all values ​​and subsets in between. Other examples include a dopant in an amount of about 1% to about 10% by weight of the doped aluminum alloy, encompassing all values ​​and subsets in between.Each of these values ​​is crucial to the ways in which this disclosure is made and may depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the type of aluminum alloy selected, the desired degradation rate, the wellbore environment and the like, and any combination thereof. In at least some cases, the doped aluminum alloy may comprise from about 0.05% to about 25% by weight of the following dopants, less than about 0.5% by weight of gallium (including 0%) of the doped aluminum alloy, and less than about 0.5% by weight of mercury (including 0%) of the doped aluminum alloy, wherein the dopant is selected from the group consisting of iron, copper, nickel, tin, chromium, silver, gold, palladium, carbon, and any combination thereof. In some cases, the aluminum may be at least 64% by weight of the doped aluminum alloy. In some embodiments, the dopant concentrations may also preferably be from 0.5% to 15%. In some embodiments, the dopant may preferably be copper, nickel, cobalt, or a combination thereof from about 2% to about 25%. Examples of specific doped aluminum alloys for use in this disclosure may include, but are not limited to, a doped aluminum silumin alloy (also referred to simply as a doped silumin alloy), an Al-Mg doped aluminum alloy, an Al-Mg-Mn doped aluminum alloy, an Al-Cu aluminum alloy, an Al-Cu-Mg doped aluminum alloy, an Al-Cu-Mn-Si doped aluminum alloy, an Al-Cu-Mn-Mg doped aluminum alloy, an Al-Cu-Mg-Si-Mn doped aluminum alloy, an Al-Zn doped aluminum alloy, an Al-Cu-Zn doped aluminum alloy, and any combination thereof. As defined herein, a doped aluminum silumin alloy is an alloy comprising at least silicon, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein.A doped Al-Mg aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least magnesium, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein; a doped Al-Mg-Mn aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least magnesium, manganese, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein; a doped Al-Cu aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least copper, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein; a doped Al-Cu-Mg aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least copper, magnesium, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein; a doped Al-Cu-Mn-Si aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least copper, manganese, silicon, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein;A doped AlCu-Mn-Mg aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least copper, manganese, magnesium, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein; a doped Al-Cu-Mg-Si-Mn aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein; a doped Al-Zn aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least zinc, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein;and a doped Al-Cu-Zn aluminum alloy is an alloy comprising at least copper, zinc, aluminum, dopant, and an optional complementary material, as defined herein.

[0025] Accordingly, any or all of the doped aluminum silumin alloy, doped Al-Mg aluminum alloy, doped Al-Mg-Mn aluminum alloy, doped Al-Cu aluminum alloy, doped Al-Cu-Mg aluminum alloy, doped Al-Cu-Mn-Si aluminum alloy, doped Al-Cu-Mn-Mg aluminum alloy, doped Al-Cu-Mg-Si-Mn aluminum alloy, doped Al-Zn aluminum alloy, and / or doped Al-Cu-Zn aluminum alloy may comprise a complementary material or may not have any complementary material, without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Specific doped aluminum alloys are discussed in more detail below. The doped aluminum alloys described herein may further comprise a quantity of material, referred to as filler material, which is defined as neither the primary alloying element, other specific alloying elements that make up the doped aluminum alloy, nor the dopant. This filler material may include, but is not limited to, unknown materials, impurities, additives (e.g., those intentionally included to enhance mechanical properties), and any combination thereof. The filler material has minimal, if any, effect on the corrosion rate acceleration of the doped aluminum alloys. Consequently, the filler material may, for example, inhibit the corrosion rate or have no effect on it.As defined herein, the term "minimally" with reference to the effect of acceleration velocity refers to an effect of no more than about 5% compared to the absence of supplementary material. This supplementary material, as discussed in more detail below, may enter the doped aluminum alloys of this disclosure due to natural remnants of raw materials, oxidation of the alloys or other elements, manufacturing processes (e.g., casting, alloying, and the like), or any combination thereof. Alternatively, the supplementary material may be additives intentionally included in the doped aluminum alloy to impart a beneficial quality to the alloy, as discussed below.In general, the complementary material is present in the doped aluminum alloys described herein in an amount of less than about 10% by weight of the doped aluminum alloy, which does not include any complementary material at all (i.e., 0%). According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the degradable metallic coating 230 may comprise a magnesium alloy comprising about 3% to 8% by weight of aluminum, about 1% to 4% by weight of strontium, and about 0% to about 2% by weight of manganese, and the remaining magnesium alloy. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the composition of the degradable metallic coating 230 can be selected to produce a predetermined amount of time for the degradable metallic coating 230 to degrade and thereby expose the sealing element 220 to a well fluid. According to at least one aspect of this disclosure, the predetermined amount of time before the degradable metallic coating 230 degrades can be modified by adjusting the doping of the doped magnesium alloy. While a variety of examples and other information were used to explain aspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of the claims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements in those examples, as a person of average skill would be able to use these examples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Furthermore, while some objects may have been described in language specific to the examples of structural features and / or method steps, it should be understood that the object defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to these described features or actions. For example, such functionality may be distributed in another manner or carried out in components other than those identified herein.Instead, the described features and steps are disclosed as examples of system components and methods within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, the language of the claims stating "at least one of an assembly" indicates that a system comprising one member of the assembly, multiple members of the assembly, or all members of the assembly satisfies the claim. The disclosure statements include: r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi Declaration 1: An inflatable packer assembly for placement in a well, comprising: a mandrel; a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel, wherein the sealing element is formed of a material that responds to exposure to a fluid in a well by expanding radially from the mandrel; and a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element, wherein the degradable metallic coating fluidly isolates the portion of an external surface of the sealing element from a fluid external to an external surface of the coating; wherein the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the downhole mandrel so as to expose the sealing element to the fluid in the well. Statement 2: An inflatable packer assembly according to statement 1, wherein the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the mandrel after downhole application of a voltage to the coating. Statement 3: An inflatable packer assembly according to statement 1 or statement 2, wherein the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the mandrel upon exposure to a downhole fluid. Statement 4: An inflatable packer assembly according to any of Statements 1-3 above, wherein the degradable metallic coating is configured to degrade upon contact with a downhole fluid to expose the sealing element to the fluid in the well. Statement 5: An inflatable packer assembly in accordance with any of the statements 1-4 above, wherein the coating is configured to degrade in a downhole environment of a well after a predetermined amount of time to expose the sealing element to the fluid in the well. Declaration 6: An inflatable packer assembly according to any of the above declarations 1-5, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a metal or metallic alloy that can be dissolved upon exposure to a well fluid. Statement 7: An inflatable packer assembly in accordance with any of the statements 1-6 above, wherein the degradable metallic coating galvanically corrodes upon exposure to a well fluid. Declaration 8: An inflatable packer assembly according to any of the above declarations 1-7, wherein the degradable metallic coating is a metal alloy comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium. Statement 9: An inflatable packer assembly in accordance with any of the statements 1-8 above, wherein the degradable metallic coating exhibits a tensile strength of about 5,000 psi to about 35,000 psi. r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi Statement 10: An inflatable packer assembly in accordance with any of the statements 1-9 above, wherein the degradable metallic coating exhibits a thickness of about 20 thousandths of an inch to about a quarter of an inch. Declaration 11: An inflatable packer assembly according to any of the above declarations 1-10, wherein the degradable metallic 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 trio, about 4% non-trio rare earth metals, 1% to about 5% dopant from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and selected from about 0.4% zirconium complement material, 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, from 1% to about 5% of dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, about 0.2% manganese supplementary material, and about 0.3% zinc supplementary material, each by weight of the doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy AZ comprising about 94.5% magnesium, about 3% aluminum, about 1% zinc, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and about 0.3% manganese supplementary material, each by weight of the doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy ZK 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 magnesium alloy ZK; 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% silicon complement material, and about 0.2% zinc complement material, each by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy. Declaration 12: An inflatable packer assembly according to declaration 11, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises about 0.5% to 5% dopant. Declaration 13: An inflatable packer assembly according to declaration 11 or declaration 12, wherein the rare earth metal in the non-yttrium doped WE magnesium alloy is selected from the group consisting of scandium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, prosthetic, samarium, europium, gadolinium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and any combination thereof. Statement 14: An inflatable packer assembly in accordance with any of the statements 1-13 above, wherein the degradable metallic coating does not require a retaining element to be placed on at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element. Declaration 15: An inflatable packer assembly according to any of the above declarations 1-14, wherein the degradable metallic coating is formed by one of spray deposition, electronic deposition, packing, tape, and adhesive packing. Declaration 16: An inflatable packer assembly in accordance with any of the above declarations 1-15, wherein the degradable metallic coating is chemically bonded to at least a portion of the outer surface of the sealing element. Declaration 17: An inflatable packer assembly according to any of the above declarations 1-16, wherein the degradable metallic coating is disposed around at least a portion of the outer surface of the sealing element as a result of an adhesive. Declaration 18: A method for using an inflatable packer assembly, wherein the method comprises: placing an inflatable packer assembly in a wellbore on a conveying means to position the inflatable packer assembly at a predetermined downhole location, wherein the sealing element of the inflatable packer assembly is in an inactive configuration; selectively removing a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element; and causing the sealing element to be exposed to a well fluid whereby the sealing element is activated to induce inflation of the sealing element. Statement 19: A method in accordance with statement 18, wherein selectively removing a degradable metallic coating comprises exposing the degradable metallic coating to a well fluid. Statement 20: A method in accordance with statement 19, wherein selectively removing a degradable metallic coating comprises exposing the degradable metallic coating to an activation fluid that is circulated from the surface or released by a downhole tool. Statement 21: A method in accordance with statement 20, wherein selectively removing a degradable metallic coating comprises applying a voltage to the degradable metallic coating. Statement 22: A method in accordance with any of the above statements 18-21 r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi, further comprising selectively removing the degradable metallic coating after a predetermined period of time. Declaration 23: An inflatable downhole packer system comprising: a conveying means; a mandrel coupled to the conveying means; a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel, wherein the sealing element is formed of a material that responds to exposure to an activation fluid in a well by expanding radially from the mandrel; and a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element, wherein the degradable metallic coating fluidly isolates a portion of an external surface of the sealing element from the exterior of the coating; wherein the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the downhole mandrel so as to expose the sealing element to the activation fluid in the well. Statement 24: A system in accordance with statement 23, further comprising an activation fluid disposed within the well, wherein the activation fluid is configured to cause the degradable metallic coating to degrade. Declaration 25: A system in accordance with declaration 23 or declaration 24, wherein the degradable metallic coating is a metal alloy comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium. Declaration 26: A system in accordance with declaration 23 or declaration 24, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a doped magnesium alloy comprising from about 0.5% to 5% dopant. Declaration 27: A system according to declaration 23 or declaration 24, wherein the degradable metallic 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 trio, about 4% non-trio rare earth metals, 1% to about 5% dopant from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and selected from about 0.4% zirconium complement material, 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, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, about 0.2% manganese complement material, and about 0.3% zinc filler material, each by weight of doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy AZ comprising about 94.5% magnesium, about 3% aluminum, about 1% zinc, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and about 0.3% manganese filler material, each by weight of doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy ZK 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 doped magnesium alloy ZK; a doped ZK magnesium alloy comprising about 89.9% magnesium, about 3.2% zinc, about 0.6% zirconium, and about 6.3% of 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% of dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron and any combination thereof, about 0.2% silicon complement material, and about 0.2% zinc complement material, each by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy. Declaration 28: A method for manufacturing an inflatable packer assembly, comprising: providing a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of a mandrel, wherein the sealing element comprises a material that responds to exposure to a fluid in a well by expanding radially from the mandrel; and depositing a degradable metallic coating on at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element. Declaration 29: A method in accordance with declaration 28, wherein the degradable metallic coating is a metal alloy comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium. Statement 30: A method in accordance with statement 28 or statement 29, wherein the degradable metallic coating exhibits a tensile strength of about 5,000 psi to about 35,000 psi. Statement 31: A method in accordance with any of statements 28-30, wherein the degradable metallic coating exhibits a thickness of about 20 thousandths of an inch to about a quarter of an inch. Statement 32: A method in accordance with any of the above statements 28-31, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a doped magnesium alloy comprising from about 0.5% to 5% dopant. Statement 33: A method according to any of the above statements 28-31, wherein the degradable metallic 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 triium, about 4% non-yttrium rare earth metals, 1% to about 5% dopant from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and selected from about 0.4% zirconium complement material, 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, from 1% to about 5% of dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, about 0.2% manganese supplementary material, and about 0.3% zinc supplementary material, each by weight of the doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy AZ comprising about 94.5% magnesium, about 3% aluminum, about 1% zinc, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and about 0.3% manganese supplementary material, each by weight of the doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy ZK 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 magnesium alloy ZK; 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% silicon complement material, and about 0.2% zinc complement material, each by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy. Declaration 34: The method in accordance with declaration 33, wherein the rare earth metal in the non-trium doped WE magnesium alloy is selected from the group consisting of scandium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and any combination thereof. Statement 35: The method in accordance with any of the statements 28-34 above, wherein the degradable metallic coating does not require a retaining element to be placed on at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element. Declaration 36: The method in accordance with any of the above declarations 28-35, wherein the degradable metallic coating is formed by one of spray deposition, electronic deposition, packaging, adhesive tape and adhesive packaging. Statement 37: The method in accordance with any of the statements 28-36 above, wherein the degradable metallic coating is chemically bonded to at least a portion of the external surface of the sealing element. Statement 38: The method in accordance with any of the above statements 28-36, r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi wherein the degradable metallic coating is disposed around at least a portion of the external surface of the sealing element as a result of an adhesive. Statement 39: The system in accordance with any of the statements 23-27 above, wherein the activation fluid is an organic acid. Statement 40: The system in accordance with any of the above statements 23-27, wherein the activation fluid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, formic acid, lactic acid and any combination thereof. Declaration 41: The system in accordance with any of the above declarations 23-25, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a doped aluminum alloy. Declaration 42: The system in accordance with any of the above Declarations 23-25, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a magnesium alloy comprising about 3% to 8% by weight of aluminum, about 1% to 4% by weight of strontium and about 0% to about 2% by weight of manganese, and the remaining magnesium alloy. Statement 43: The method in accordance with any of the above statements 28-31, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a doped aluminum alloy. Statement 44: The method in accordance with any of the above statements 28-31, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a magnesium alloy comprising about 3% to 8% by weight of aluminum, about 1% to 4% by weight of strontium and about 0% to about 2% by weight of manganese, and the remaining magnesium alloy. Statement 45: The method in accordance with statement 20, wherein the activation fluid is an organic acid. Statement 46: The method in accordance with statement 20, wherein the activation fluid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, formic acid, lactic acid and any combination thereof. Statement 47: The unreliable packer assembly in accordance with any of the above statements 1-10, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a doped aluminum alloy. Declaration 48: The unreliable packer assembly according to any of the above declarations 1-10, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a magnesium alloy comprising about 3% to 8% by weight of aluminum, about 1% to 4% by weight of strontium and about 0% to about 2% by weight of manganese, and the remaining magnesium alloy.

Claims

1. An inflatable packer assembly for positioning in a well, wherein the inflatable packer assembly comprises: a mandrel; a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel, wherein the sealing element is formed of a material that responds to exposure to a fluid in a well by expanding radially from the mandrel; and a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element, wherein the degradable metallic coating fluidly isolates the portion of an external surface of the sealing element from an external fluid to an external surface of the coating; wherein the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the mandrel at the bottom of the well to expose the sealing element to the fluid in the well.

2. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metal coating is a metal alloy comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium.

3. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metal coating comprises a doped magnesium alloy comprising from about 0.5% to 5% dopant.

4. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metallic 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 triium, about 4% non-yttrium rare earth metals, about 1% to about 5% dopant from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof and about 0.4% zirconium complement material, 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, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, about 0.2% manganese complement material and about 0.3% zinc filler material, each by weight of doped magnesium alloy AZ; r / ocnn / zznz / E / YiAi a doped magnesium alloy AZ comprising about 94.5% magnesium, about 3% aluminum, about 1% zinc, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof and about 0.3% manganese filler material, each by weight of doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy ZK 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 doped magnesium alloy ZK; a doped ZK magnesium alloy comprising about 89.9% magnesium, about 3.2% zinc, about 0.6% zirconium and about 6.3% of 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% of dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron and any combination thereof, about 0.2% silicon complement material and about 0.2% zinc complement material, each by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy.

5. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 4, wherein the rare earth metal in the non-trium doped WE magnesium alloy is selected from the group consisting of scandium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, protium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and any combination thereof.

6. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metallic coating exhibits a tensile strength of about 5,000 psi to about 35,000 psi.

7. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metallic coating exhibits a thickness of about 20 thousandths of an inch to about a quarter of an inch.

8. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metallic coating does not require a retaining element in order to be placed on at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element.

9. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metallic coating is formed by spray deposition, electronic deposition, packing, adhesive tape, and adhesive packing.

10. The inflatable packer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the degradable metallic coating is coupled to at least a portion of the outer surface of the sealing element by chemical bonding or by an adhesive.

11. A method for using an inflatable packer assembly, wherein the method comprises: placing an inflatable packer assembly in a wellbore on a conveying means to position the inflatable packer assembly at a predetermined downhole location, wherein the sealing element of the inflatable packer assembly is in an inactivated configuration; selectively removing a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element; and causing the sealing element to be exposed to a well fluid, whereby the sealing element is activated to induce inflation of the sealing element.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein selectively removing a degradable metallic coating comprises exposing the degradable metallic coating to a well fluid.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein selectively removing a degradable metallic coating comprises exposing the degradable metallic coating to an activation fluid that is circulated from the surface or released by a downhole tool.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein selectively removing a degradable metallic coating comprises applying a voltage to the degradable metallic coating.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising selectively removing the degradable metallic coating after a predetermined period of time.

16. A downhole inflatable packer system comprising: a conveying means; a mandrel coupled to the conveying means; a sealing element disposed around at least a portion of the mandrel, wherein the sealing element is formed of a material that responds to exposure to an activation fluid in a well by expanding radially from the mandrel; and a degradable metallic coating disposed around at least a portion of an external surface of the sealing element, wherein the degradable metallic coating fluidly isolates the portion of an external surface of the sealing element from the outside of the coating; wherein the degradable metallic coating can be selectively removed from the mandrel at the bottom of the well to expose the sealing element to the activation fluid in the well.

17. The system according to claim 16, further comprising an activation fluid disposed within the well, wherein the activation fluid is configured to cause the degradable metallic coating to degrade.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the degradable metallic coating is a metal alloy comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium.

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the degradable metallic coating comprises a doped magnesium alloy comprising from about 0.5% to 5% dopant.

20. The system according to claim 16, wherein the degradable metallic 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 triium, about 4% non-yttrium rare earth metals, about 1% to about 5% dopant from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof and about 0.4% zirconium complement material, 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, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, about 0.2% manganese complement material and about 0.3% zinc filler material, each by weight of doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy AZ comprising about 94.5% magnesium, about 3% aluminum, about 1% zinc, from 1% to about 5% dopant selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, copper and any combination thereof, and about 0.3% manganese filler material, each by weight of doped magnesium alloy AZ; a doped magnesium alloy ZK 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 doped magnesium alloy ZK; a doped ZK magnesium alloy comprising about 89.9% magnesium, about 3.2% zinc, about 0.6% zirconium and about 6.3% of 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% of dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron and any combination thereof, about 0.2% silicon complementary material and about 0.2% zinc complementary material, each by weight of the doped AM magnesium alloy.