A synergy-effect-incorporated fuzzy Petri net modeling paradigm with application in risk assessment

•A novel synergy-effect-incorporated fuzzy Petri net (SFPN) modeling paradigm is developed.•The transition enabling conditions and truth degree calculation rules incorporated with synergy effects are presented.•The proposed SFPN is capable of properly depicting the catalyst and inhibitor effects existing in fuzzy rule-based expert systems.•The advantages of the proposed SFPN are validated through a risk assessment case study.