Low contact clamp for non-invasive process fluid temperature indication

A process fluid temperature estimation system comprising:

• a sensor capsule having at least one temperature sensitive element disposed therein configured to sense an external surface of a process pipe;
• measurement circuitry coupled to the sensor capsule and configured to detect a characteristic of the at least one temperature sensitive element that varies with temperature and provide sensor capsule temperature information;
• and
• a controller coupled to the measurement circuitry, the controller being configured to obtain a reference temperature and employ a heat transfer calculation with the reference temperature and the sensor capsule temperature information to generate an estimated process temperature output;
• and
• a mounting assembly configured to mount the process fluid temperature estimation system to the external surface of the process pipe, the mounting assembly comprising:
• a clamp body offset from the external surface of the process pipe;
• and
• a standoff configured to contact the external surface of the process pipe and to offset the clamp body from the external surface of the process pipe, wherein the standoff is actuatable to adjust the offset between the clamp body and the external surface of the process pipe.