Low contact clamp for non-invasive process fluid temperature indication

A process fluid temperature estimation system (200) includes a sensor capsule (206) having a temperature sensitive element (254) disposed therein configured to sense an external surface (116) of a process pipe (100). The process fluid temperature estimation system (200) includes measurement circuitry (228) coupled to the sensor capsule (206) and configured to detect a characteristic of the at least one temperature sensitive element (254) that varies with temperature and provide sensor capsule temperature information. A controller (222) is coupled to the measurement circuitry (228) and is 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. The process fluid temperature estimation system (200) includes a mounting assembly (302) configured to mount the process fluid temperature estimation system (200) to the external surface of the process pipe (100), wherein a portion of the mounting assembly (302) is offset from the external surface (116) of the process pipe (100).