LHC is a source of new challenges in every HEP field; among these, the beam collimation requires an innovative approach. The H8RD22 collaboration is undertaking an intense study of bent crystal properties with the goal of using crystals as primary collimators. The thesis gives an introduction to the theory of channeling and its related phenomena in bent crystals explaining how these can be used to perform an efficient beam collimation. The pre-thesis experiments are described to introduce the scientific context in which the H8RD22 collaboration is working. The thesis core is the description of two beam tests held in Sept. 2006 and May 2007 on the CERN SPS H8 beamline with 400 GeV/c protons: the experimental setups and procedures are shown together with the analysis of the collected data. With the observation of the volume reflection for the first time at these energies and the use of multi crystal systems, these experiments are a clear indication that crystal collimation is a real possibility for the second phase of LHC
