Mineral aggregates are fundamental materials that are used in all areas of construction industry such as concrete, mortars, bituminous mixtures, surface treatments for roads, airfields and other trafficked areas, railway ballast, unbound and hydraulic bound mixtures in civil engineering works and road constructions, which comprise our modern world as buildings, highways, dams, railways etc.

Thus it is crucial to determine the properties of aggregates according to related EN, ASTM, AASTHO, BS standards. In the majority of cases the EN Standards correspond to other reference Standards as for example ASTM and AASHTO and, apart from a few exceptions there is almost no difference in the specification of test apparatus.