Mechanical performance of self-compacting concrete incorporating rice husk ash

•Rice husk ash (RHA) is used as cement replacement material.•The effect of RHA on mechanical properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) was investigated.•Cement replacement by 5–10% RHA enhance the mechanical properties of SCC.•Workability of SCC decreases considerably by adding RHA. Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is a highly-workable concrete that fills the formwork under its own weight without needing vibration. The application of byproducts or waste materials as cement substitutes in SCC can enhance its mechanical performance. Rice husk ash (RHA) is one of the highly reactive byproducts. The pozzolanic performance of RHA due to high silica content makes it a suitable supplementary cementitious material for being used in SCC. In this paper, mechanical behavior of SCC was studied by 240 hardened concrete specimens with different variables i.e. partial replacement of cement with RHA (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%), concrete aged (3, 7, 28, 90, 180, and 270 days), and water to binder ratio (0.38, 0.44, 0.50, 0.56, 0.62, and 0.68). Fresh concrete properties were measured by V-funnel flow time, L-box, and slump flow diameter and time tests. Mechanical properties were determined in terms of compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, splitting tensile strength, and compressive stress-strain relationship tests. The test results showed that the workability of SCC containing RHA is decreased by increasing the RHA replacement ratio. On the contrary, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and splitting tensile strength increase with increasing the percentage of RHA up to 5% replacement.