Sealing/anchoring tool employing a hydraulically deformable member and an expandable metal circlet

A well system, comprising:

• a wellbore;
• a sealing/anchoring tool positioned within the wellbore, the sealing/anchoring tool including:
• a mandrel;
• a hydraulically deformable member positioned about the mandrel;
• and
• a sealing/anchoring element positioned about the hydraulically deformable member, the sealing/anchoring element including:
• a circlet having an inside surface having an inside diameter (di), an outside surface having an outside diameter (do), a width (w), and a wall thickness (t), the circlet comprising an expandable metal configured to expand in response to hydrolysis to chemically deform the circlet from a radially reduced chemical state to a radially enlarged chemical state.

A method for sealing/anchoring within a wellbore, comprising:

• providing a sealing/anchoring tool within a wellbore, the sealing/anchoring tool including:
• a mandrel;
• a hydraulically deformable member positioned about the mandrel;
• and
• a positioned about the hydraulically deformable member, the sealing/anchoring element including:
• a circlet having an inside surface having an inside diameter (di), an outside surface having an outside diameter (do), a width (w), and a wall thickness (t), the circlet comprising an expandable metal configured to expand in response to hydrolysis to chemically deform the circlet from a radially reduced chemical state to a radially enlarged chemical state;
• mechanically deforming the sealing/anchoring element by moving the hydraulically deformable member from a radially reduced mechanical state to a radially enlarged mechanical state;
• and
• subjecting the mechanically deformed sealing/anchoring element in the radially enlarged mechanical state to reactive fluid to expand it to the radially enlarged chemical state and thereby form an expanded metal sealing/anchoring element.