Book excerpt: The primary aim of this book is to provide an understanding of the sophisticated, modern characterisation techniques in the domain of civil engineering. It systematically covers physical, chemical, mineralogical and microstructural characterisation, which is imperative to evaluate the construction materials and their performance. It describes tools such as rheometers, thermogravimetric analysers, scanning electron microscopes, X-ray diffractometers and other miscellaneous methods. In each chapter, a detailed scientific background, instrumentation details, working principles, and applications of a specific technique are provided. Features: • Describes rheological and microstructural characterisation testing. • Discusses sophisticated characterisation techniques for construction materials. • Explains the detailed procedure of sample preparation and testing. • Provides detailed descriptions of different parts of the instruments and their purposes. • Includes questions and answers at the end of each chapter. This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in civil engineering.