Patent ID: 11946348
Assignee: BAKER HUGHES HOLDINGS LLC
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E | IPC E

Claim 10:
11. A gas-lift well system, comprising:
a casing extending down a wellbore;
production tubing extending within the casing, the production tubing including sections of tubing and a coupling between adjacent sections of tubing, the coupling including sockets at each end that receive ends of the adjacent sections of the production tubing defining a joint between the adjacent sections of the production tubing;
a gas system for introducing compressed gas into an annular space between the casing and the production tubing;
at least one gas-lift input extending from the annular space to an interior of the production tubing; and
at least one fluid flow regime modifier at least partially within a fluid column of the production tubing, the at least one fluid flow regime modifier including one or more fluid flow modifying features positioned in the coupling and between the ends of the adjacent sections and comprising an extension extending across the coupling or protrusions extending beyond a reduced internal diameter of the coupling between the adjacent sections of tubing and into the fluid column, the one or more fluid modifying features configured to reduce fluid fallback, impart a turbulent flow regime to at least a portion of the fluid flow column at the joint between the sections of the tubing and within the coupling, and cause fluid flow within the fluid column proximate a wall of the production tubing to move toward a center of the fluid column and fluid flow at or adjacent to a center of the fluid column to move toward the wall of the production tubing.