WOS:000081787300007International audienceThe aim of this work is to model the plugging curve of fibrous media for depth and surface filtration. The model links the evolution of pressure drop versus the injected mass of pollutants to structural properties of the media. Furthermore, thanks to the model, it is possible to predict the fibrous composition of a medium, which conforms to given filtration properties. First, a review of the typical fibrous media for engine oil filtration formed in our Laboratory is proposed, and, the measured filtration properties as well as the methods used for the characterization of structural properties of the media during plugging are presented. Then, an explanation of the evolution of structural properties is proposed. In the second part, the results of the structural property characterization during plugging are used to develop a model of the pressure drop evolution as a function of the injected mass of pollutants. Then, correlation laws linking the model parameters to the structural properties of the medium are given and the model is used to predict the plugging curve of two typical filtering media