Conformal compensating filter for enhanced radiographic imaging of objects

Description (excerpt)

RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for all governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty. Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 1.78(a)(4), this application claims the benefit of and priority to prior filed co-pending Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/693,884, filed Sep. 12, 2024, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to radiographic imaging and, more particularly, to conformal compensating filters for enhanced radiographic imaging of objects. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Radiography and computed tomography expose objects including manufactured parts and inorganic and organic structures (e.g., human bones, etc.) to x-rays to produce images of the object's internal and external features. In engineering, maintenance, and medical applications, radiographs are collected to ascertain the presence of features such as defects that very often are located in proximity to large geometric features. Computed tomography produces 3D volumetric reconstructions of an object. Radiographic and tomographic images of objects are dominated by the larger geometric features, which then occludes, obscures, or introduces image artifacts that make it difficult to detect small features, particularly internal ones such as defects, cavities, and passages. A need exists to mitigate the impact of large geometric features to enhance the imaging of the small features of interest. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the foregoing problems and other shortcomings, drawbacks, and challenges of detection, localization, and characterization of an object's internal geometrical features. While the invention will be described in connection with certain embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. To the contrary, this invention includes all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for performing enhanced radiographic imaging of objects using a conformal compensating filter is disclosed. The system includes: a source of radiation; a detector for detecting the radiation; a test object comprising an outer surface; and a conformal compensating filter comprising an inner surface. The source is configured to emit radiation towards the test object such that the radiation interacts with the test object and is detected by the detector to provide information about the test object. The conformal compensating filter is configured to reduce the variation in measured intensity of the emitted radiation at the detector to increase the relative information about defects in the test object. The conformal compensating filter at least partially surrounds the test object and is configured such that the inner surface of the conformal compensating filter mirrors the outer surface of the test object for at least a portion of the outer surface of the test object. Additionally, the conformal compensating filter is fixed to the reference frame of the object, such that the conformal compensating filter moves and rotates with the object relative to the source and detector. According to another aspect of the disclosure, a system for performing enhanced radiographic imaging of objects using a conformal compensating filter is disclosed. The system includes: a source of radiation; a detector for detecting the radiation; a test object comprising an outer surface; and a conformal compensating filter comprising an inner surface. The source is configured to emit radiation towards the test object such that the radiation interacts with the test object and is detected by the detector to provide information about the test object, the conformal compensating filter is configured to reduce the variation in measured intensity of the emitted radiation at the detector to increase information about defects in the test object, the conformal compensating filter at least partially surrounds the test object forming a cavity between corresponding portions of the inner surface of the conformal compensating filter and the outer surface of the test object and the cavity is filled with an attenuating media, and the conformal compensating filter is fixed to the reference frame of the object, such that the conformal compensating filter moves and rotates with the object relative to the source and detector. According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a process of generating information about a test object using radiation filtered by a conformal compensating filter includes emitting radiation towards the test object. The radiation is emitted using a system including: a source of radiation; a detector for detecting the radiation; the test object comprising an outer surface; a