The pulsed detonation engine (PDE) concept is systematically analyzed with respect to design variations, and the potential performance is measured from computational e uid dynamics simulations. Variations in cone guration geometry are examined e rst through single-pulse computations. These show that the presence of a nozzle can greatly affect the performance of the PDE by increasing thrust delivery during the ignition phase. It is further shown that it is not necessary to e ll the entire tube with a fuel ‐ air mixture and that signie cant gains in specie c impulse can be obtained by appropriate fueling strategies. Multicycle computations are performed next and the effect of cycling parameters is studied. It is shown that the cycling frequency can be signie cantly increased by selecting the pressure parameters and the extent of refueling. We also show that multicycle performance can be very different from the single-pulse estimates, and that it is not possible to optimize separately the ignition phase from the injection phase. Finally, the question of open-end initiation is examined and a comparison between quasi-one-dimensional and two-dimensional computations is performed.