Slow burning heat generating structure

A heat generating structure, comprising:

• a substrate comprised of a first material;
• a coating comprised of a second material that is different from the first material, where the coating covers at least a portion of the substrate;
• wherein the coating and substrate, upon being thermally energized to their minimum alloying temperature, react in a first exothermic reaction that is an alloying reaction, where the relative quantities of the substrate and coating are such that the first exothermic reaction yields a first amount of exothermic energy, where the first amount of exothermic energy is insufficient to cause self-sustained propagation of the first exothermic reaction;
• and
• a polymeric material covering substantially all of the substrate and coating, where the polymeric material is different from the first material and the second material, where the polymeric layer, upon being thermally energized, reacts with at least one of the substrate and coating in a second exothermic reaction, where the second exothermic reaction yields a second amount of exothermic energy, where the second amount of exothermic energy, when combined with the first amount of exothermic energy, is sufficient to propagate the first exothermic reaction in a self-sustained manner, thus enabling uninterrupted propagation from a first location within the structure along a travel path to a second location within the structure.