  We consider a curved chain of nonlinear oscillators and show that the
interplay of curvature and nonlinearity leads to a number of qualitative
effects. In particular, the energy of nonlinear localized excitations centered
on the bending decreases when curvature increases, i.e. bending manifests
itself as a trap for excitations. Moreover, the potential of this trap is
double-well, thus leading to a symmetry breaking phenomenon: a symmetric
stationary state may become unstable and transform into an energetically
favorable asymmetric stationary state. The essentials of symmetry breaking are
examined analytically for a simplified model. We also demonstrate a threshold
character of the scattering process, i.e. transmission, trapping, or reflection
of the moving nonlinear excitation passing through the bending.
