Experimental and simulation study on compressive failure evolution of multidirectional laminates with different dimensions

•Compression failure modes of multidirectional CFRP laminates with different dimensions were investigated experimentally.•Initial damage and crack propagation process of specimens with different thicknesses identified based on fractographic aspects.•Evaluation of compressive strength and failure mechanism based on cohesion finite element simulation.•Influence of the non-equal size effect on the compression failure process of CFRP is revealed from microscopic defects.