Improved Gas Lift Valve Performance Using a Modified Design for Gas Lift Valve Seat

Abstract

Summary Laboratory-gas dynamic throughput testing indicates that each injection-operated gas lift valve (GLV) often does not open fully in actual operation, mainly because of the bellows-stacking phenomenon. This paper addresses such issues and recommends a simple but effective solution. A modified design for the GLV seat was created to reduce the required stem travel to generate a flow area equal to the port area. This paper details the new design, theoretical calculations, and experimental results. Theoretical calculations showed that the minimum stem travel for the modified design improved from 10 to 58% compared with using a conventional sharp-edged seat. The experimental results showed that for the same amount of stem travel, the modified design provides a larger flow rate than the sharp-edged seat.