We present a new approach to enhancing Answer Set Programming (ASP) with Constraint Processing techniques which allows for solving interesting Constraint Satisfaction Problems in ASP. We show how constraints on finite domains can be decomposed into logic programs such that unit-propagation achieves arc, bound or range consistency. Experiments with our encodings demonstrate their computational impact.

Engineering conceptual design can be defined as that phase of the product development process during which the designer takes a specification for a product to be designed and generates many broad solutions to it. This paper presents a constraint-based approach to supporting interactive conceptual design. The approach is based on an expressive and general technique for modeling: the design knowledge that a designer can exploit during a design project; the life-cycle environment that the final product faces; the design specification that defines the set of requirements the product must satisfy; and the structure of the various schemes that are developed by the designer. A computational reasoning environment based on constraint filtering is proposed as the basis of an interactive design support tool. Using such a tool, human designers can be assisted in interactively developing and evaluating a set of schemes that satisfy the various constraints imposed on the design.