Thick-walled high-strength hot rolled steel sheet having excellent hydrogen induced cracking resistance and manufacturing method thereof

A method of manufacturing a thick-walled high-strength hot rolled steel sheet having tensile strength of 520 MPa or more and a surface layer hardness of 230HV or less in terms of Vickers hardness, wherein in manufacturing a hot rolled steel sheet by applying hot rolling consisting of rough rolling and finish rolling to a raw steel material having a composition which contains by mass % 0.02 to 0.08% C, 1.0% or less Si, 0.50 to 1.85% Mn, 0.03% or less P, 0.005% or less S, 0.1% or less Al, 0.02 to 0.10% Nb, 0.001 to 0.05% Ti, 0.0005% or less B, and Fe and unavoidable impurities as a balance, such that the composition satisfies the following formula:

• (Ti+Nb/2)/C<4, where Ti, Nb, and C are contents of the respective elements by mass %, and after the finish rolling is finished, a first cooling step in which the hot rolled steel sheet is cooled by accelerated cooling at an average cooling rate of 20° C./s or more and less than a martensite formation critical cooling rate on a surface of the hot rolled steel sheet until a surface temperature becomes a temperature not more than an Ar3 transformation temperature and not less than an Ms temperature, a second cooling step in which the hot rolled steel sheet is rapidly cooled to a temperature within a temperature range from 350° C. or above to a temperature below 600° C. at the center of a sheet-thickness after the first cooling step is finished, and a third cooling step in which, after the second cooling step is finished, the hot rolled steel sheet is coiled in a coil shape at a coiling temperature falling within a temperature range from 350° C. or above to a temperature below 600° C. in terms of a temperature at the center of sheet-thickness and, thereafter, a temperature of the hot rolled steel sheet at least at a position of ¼ sheet-thickness to ¾ sheet-thickness in a coil thickness direction is held or kept within a temperature range from 350° C. or above to a temperature below 600° C. for 30 min or more are sequentially applied to the hot rolled steel sheet.