Define safe bearing capacity and allowable bearing pressure.
Safe bearing capacity (qs): It is the maximum pressure which the soil can carry without risk of shear failure is called as safe bearing capacity.
OR
Sometimes the safe bearing capacity is also referred to as the ultimate bearing capacity qu divided by factor of safety.
qu= qs / FOS
Allowable bearing pressure:
The net loading intensity at which neither the soil fails in shear nor there is excessive settlement of structure, is called as Allowable bearing pressure.