The finite element mesh used in the computations is shown in Fig. 9a. Displacements are fully constrained at the top surface, and the symmetry with respect to the vertical plane y ¼ 0 aligned with the direction of sliding is exploited in order to reduce the size of the problem. Note that the mesh is significantly refined in the vicinity of the contact zone and, in particular, at the trailing edge. This is needed to avoid spurious oscillations in more severe lubrication conditions, see [19]. The Dirichlet boundary condition for the Reynolds equation, p ¼ 0, is prescribed far from the contact zone, which corresponds to the fully flooded condition