Hy-SN: Hyper-graph based semantic network

Knowledge representation is a critical basis for knowledge management. With considering a balance between machine- and human-understandable, we propose a new knowledge representation model by combining the semantic network and the hyper-graph. We refer to this model as ‘hyper-graph based semantic network’ (Hy-SN), which can represent more complex semantic relationships and have a more efficient data structure for storing knowledge in repositories. This paper also investigates the reasoning mechanisms of Hy-SN, which includes: the logical, analogical, and inductive reasoning. Implicit semantic relationships can be derived on the basis of these reasoning mechanisms. Three application cases based on Hy-SN are illustrated to validate its rationality and practicability.