In the paper the theoretical sintering criterion was applied to check if sintering conditions of bearing aluminium matrix composites manufactured by recycling of communited aluminium and CuA18 aluminium bronze chips, as reinforcing phase, determined experimentally were proper chosen. The criterion bases on the assumption that by conformability of plastic work of composites in metal working processes with critical values of the work needed for good junction of the particles determined in other simple test, the proper conditions of bonding process of particles can be achieved. The composites were manufactured directly, without metallurgical process. The method of recycling contains: cleaning and communition of chips, premolding, hot extrusion and heat treatment during which the diffusion of copper and aluminium between matrix and reinforcing phase takes place and leads to create the hard intermetallic phases in soft matrix, the structure typical for bearing materials.

The effect of tempearture, strain rate and strain on the structure and plastic properties of metals and alloys has been widely known, and improvement of above mentioned features by changes of deformation conditions only has been rather exhausted, but the effect of strain path changes is less known especially in the case of massive processes. Therefore the effect of different complex strain paths on behavior of CuSi3.5 silicon bronze has been investigated. The strain paths contain various sequences of cyclic torsion and monotonic tension were applied. The amplitude was changed in the range of 0.01-0.6, temperature 20-800 °C and strain rate O.Ol-I s _,_ The platic properties and structure obtained in complex strain paths were compared with those gained in monotonic torsion and tensile tests. The silicon bronze containing about 3.5 % Si has a very low stacking fault energy, therefore in the mechanism of complex deformation the twinnings and crystalographic slip play the imporatant role. The strain paths similar to those applied in the experiments are observed in some industrial processes. By proper chosen of the strain path the control of the flow stress and the limit strain can be obtained.