In a pulsed bed, the fluidizing air is made to oscillate while flowing through the bed. The objectives of the work reported were to investigate the potential advantages and limitations of a pulsed atmospheric fluidized bed combustor, based on existing data and analyses, to develop conceptual bench-scale designs, and to formulate a research and development plan for experimental validation and development of the pulsation concept for improving the performance of an AFBC. (LEW)