A three-dimensional simulation is performed to study the bed to wall heat transfer characteristics in a tapered fluidized bed with pulsed flow by means of the dense discrete phase model (DDPM). A unique core-annulus flow behavior is revealed in a tapered fluidized bed. The heat transfer behaviors are found to be closely associated with the gas-solid hydrodynamics. The impacts of taper angle and heater probe location are also evaluated. It is found that the bed-to-surface heat transfer coefficient can be certainly improved by reducing the taper angle. When the distance between the probe location and the gas inlet becomes closer, the bed-to-surface heat transfer is enhanced. Meanwhile, the effect of pulsating waveform of rectangular flow on fluidization and heat transfer characteristics is also analyzed. The results reveal that the rectangular pulsed flow with a long-time OFF period will sharply deteriorate the heat transfer behaviors in a tapered fluidized bed. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.