A simple empirical model with good quantitative prediction of inter-particle and intra-particle distance in a cake layer with respect to ionic strength was developed. The model is an inverse length scale with functions of interaction energy and hydrodynamic factor and it explains that the inter-particle and intra-particle distance in a cake is directly related to the effective size of particles. Particle compressibility with respect to ionic strength was also predicted by the model. The model corroborated very well with experimental results of polystyrene microsphere latex particles microfiltation in a dead end operation. From the results of the model, specific cake resistance could be controlled by the same variables affecting the height of particle energy barrier described by the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory.