1. A method comprising: selecting a physical model and a procedural model associated with an industrial plant; projecting, using at least one processing device, a cross-product of the physical model and the procedural model into a unit-operation association set using a projection matrix, the unit-operation association set associating (i) units representing equipment in the industrial plant and (ii) operations representing processes performed in the industrial plant; establishing, using the at least one processing device, internal and external adjacency sets within structures, the internal adjacency set identifying connections between inputs and outputs of individual units and operations, the external adjacency set identifying connections between (i) outputs of some units and operations and (ii) inputs of other units and operations; and generating, using the at least one processing device, a hyperstructure representing the industrial plant using the association and adjacency sets; and using the hyperstructure to control the industrial plant.