Understanding the cake structure during filtration is important to minimizing fouling and reducing cleaning operation. Here, a Monte Carlo model is proposed to investigate the effect of Hamaker constant, zeta potential, particle size, ionic strength and applied pressure on the profile of the particle volume fraction of the cake structure. A scaling relationship between the local deposit solid volume fraction and various operation conditions in the micro-scale is presented. This result can be well explained by a force balance model based on the two simple particle distributions. Combining this scaling relationship and a developed force accumulation and transfer model allows a better determination of the reversibility of the deposit layer, and also provides insight into selecting appropriate cleaning strategies. (C) 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.