Ian White GM3SEK wrote:
. . .
In principle there is nothing wrong with attempting a traveling-wave
analysis for a loaded whip. Done correctly, it will give the right
results that join up seamlessly with circuit theory as well.
. . .

One of the tests the traveling wave analysis must pass is that the
results from forward current wave excitation plus the results from
reverse current wave excitation must equal the results from excitation
by the sum of the two, i.e., the total current. This is required by
superposition, whether the network is lumped or distributed.

And analysis based on a distributed model, as Ian says, must converge to
the same results as a model with lumped components as the physical sizes
of the components get very small.

Analyses of the examples using lumped models with total current have
been entirely adequate to explain the observed inductor currents.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL