Packer assembly with expandable spacer

Abstract

A packer assembly can be used to create a seal against an inside of a tubing string. The packer assembly can be used in high-temperature, high-pressure wellbores. The packer assembly can include a first and second sealing element with a spacer located between. The spacer can be made from a deformable material such that during mechanical or hydraulic actuation of the sealing elements, the spacer expands to make contact with the inside of the tubing string and keeps at least a portion of the inside edges of the sealing elements separated. The deformable spacer can reduce the amount of elongation strain the sealing elements commonly encounter at the vicinity of current metal spacer designs during setting below a value that would cause a loss of structural integrity to the sealing elements.