 Flux average for a translating lubrication gap

In dimensionless Couette-Poiseuille flow in a thin gap with lower-wall velocity one and stationary upper wall, the conserved volume flux satisfies $Q=h/2-h^3{p}_x/12$. Equal pressures at the two ends imply $\int p_{x}dx=0$ and give the displayed expression. It is a weighted average of the positive gap height with weight $h^{-3}$, so $\min h\le 2Q\le \max h$. The local pressure gradient has the sign of $h-2Q$, making the flux constraint useful for locating pressure extrema without solving for the pressure explicitly.